The Evil Stone Revived
by SacredStoneFury
Summary: Four adventurers travel Magvel in attempt to prevent a new catastrophe from destroying the entire continent. 200 years after the War of the Stones. Lots of action. T for violence and minor language.
1. Skirmish for Friends

**The Evil Stone Revived**

(Before I begin there are a few side notes I would like to mention:  
-This is based on Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, however, there will not be any actual characters from the game in this story. (Yet…Blaze) Shut up, Blaze! As I was saying, it will be comprised of completely original characters only!  
-This story is actually authored by 2 different people. They are by pen name: SSF the original author, AKA me and Blaze (just call the nut house how, and save you a few minutesBlaze)more of the editor.  
-This is my first story. My fellow author has quite a bit of experience though. I would really appreciate it if you would R&R anyway, please.  
Now, then…On with the story! **SSF**)  
(HUZZAH**Blaze**)

**Chapter 1: Skirmish for Allies**

_At first darkness, darkness as far as the eye could see, just on the edge of vision, a glint of light hovered, only to dodge away when the eyes turn to face that way. After a moment in this shadow world, a white cottage blurs a few meters ahead. A green lawn…and two small blonde-headed girls running in white cotton dresses. One of them turns and gives a giant grin, her deep blue eyes shining with the fleeting sun, and she gives a slight giggle before running back to the cottage and the other girl. The atmosphere gives off a happy vibe, but when the comfort of this image starts to set in, the scene turns a bloody red, and from this liquid coloring, a dark flame arises, sending the entire image to a pile of ashes, and from this pile of what was good, a woman crawls forth, her skin a pale white, her hair stained as the pile of ash, and where a grin once was there was now a slight scow. Her blue eyes now blood stained a royal purple, she stands there and lets out a harsh laugh as the ashes are taken to the wind._

With that Lia jolted up from her bed, staring into a very bright sun. Lia covered her eyes and looked around her hotel room, without finding any site of a bonfire. The room was actually rather bland with a mere bed, small chair, a countertop with a mirror, and a window without any curtains. Being awoken by the sun and her nightmare at the crack of dawn put her in a particularly grumpy mood. She got up and put on her typical traveler's cloak, struggling with a 'feminine' part of her body that refused to be restrained. She then proceeded to look into the mirror, where two purple eyes on a pale face stared back at her, almost entirely covered by a mat of silver hair. She proceeded to braid her hair, having the same stubborn fight as with her cloak before eventually covering her glazed eyes with her bangs._ "What did that mean?"_ she asked herself in thought. _"What does that dream mean? It's always the same, and after two fucking years, I'm still no closer than on the first day!"_

She walked out of her room and toward the exit of the hotel. When she reached the door, a man in white robes with long black hair reaching down to around his shoulders tried to enter, bumping into her. She took a step back and looked up to see who she would disect that morning. However, she recognized the man and decided that injuring her traveling companion was not the best way to start the day. So, she decided to growl instead.

"Sorry, Lia. I just went to the store to get us some breakfast." He smiled a soft, kind-natured smile and held out a bag in front of him meaning for her to look through it. Instead, Lia simply glared at him as if he had insulted her. She quickly pushed past him.

"Not now, Dindel, and don't go annoying me with your stupid speeches." She told him angrily. Dindel let out an exhausted sigh and jogged to catch up with her. He knew better than to try and coax her into eating, not after what happened the first time he tried, that is…

Lia walked randomly down the streets, letting the '6th' sense choose the path, her strange, unseen aura extending in all directions. She always had a habit of finding something before she knew what it was she was looking for in this fashion. She ended up in another hotel, a much nicer hotel with much more of the finer luxuries common folk never get to receive. She entered and took a seat in what could only be called a lobby and scanned the area for anything that might have led her here. The room consisted of a few old men, a large man dressed in a semi-noble fashion, two girls giggling in the corner behind him, and a couple at the other end in a louder than necessary argument.

She found just what she was looking for. The man wielded a sword on his belt and the woman carried a bow. Lia slipped forward swiftly and unnoticed, until she was bare inches from him. "I'm much stronger than you think Lana!" the man called out, "I could take on just about anyone in this town!" he continued, bringing a devious grin to Lia's face as Dindel walked into the hotel breathing heavily after trying to keep up with her.

"Well then, let's test that theory. You're going to be my sparring partner!" she said from right behind the man, causing him to fall over in surprise. She pulled the man to his feet and dragged him outside. His companion strode up beside Lia and giggled. The man tried to protest, something about not fighting women, but Lia just ignored this. She got him outside and dropped the man to the ground. The man caught himself and quickly stood back up. Lia unsheathed her daggers and stood in a battle-ready stance.

The man proceeded to brush himself off. "If you don't mind, I would like to at least find someplace away from civilians to battle." Lia scowled at him. She looked at Dindel hoping for him to agree with her, even though she knew it was a lost cause. Of course, he nodded his head in agreement with the stranger. She growled angrily and stormed off toward the edge of town.

As Lia stomped forward grumpily, Dindel began to talk to the man she had challenged. His female companion tried to walk beside Lia looking for a chance to talk but was stared down by angry eyes. She retreated back beside the men and walked silently.

Through the conversation, Dindel learned that the man's name was Rin and that his female companion's was Lana, though they already knew that from the argument. He then shared his and Lia's names with the pair. The man had on dull blue armor that was obviously worn out through time with limb braces to guard his arms and legs. What little remained of a Frelian crest showed on his shoulder. His hair was a vibrant red pulled back into a ponytail reaching down to his mid-back that accentuated his soft, blue eyes. The woman wore what seemed like blue leather armor on her torso and legs. She also had a more firm shoulder pad on her right shoulder, also blue. Her bright blue hair was cut short and uneven, reaching only to her shoulders. Her eyes were of similar color. On her back was a simple bow with a large quiver that contained well over 30 arrows.

At this point, they had reached the edge of town. Lia, immediately, turned glaring at her opponent, unsheathing her daggers in the process. He stepped away from the other two in hopes of leaving them out of the competition. Dindel turned toward the town and began walking a bit so that he wouldn't have to watch the battle; he was a bishop after all and bishops are supposed to oppose all forms of unnecessary violence. Lana, however, decided that it would be a fun event to watch and took a seat next to the nearest building. Once the other two were out of danger, Rin withdrew his sword and held it horizontally in front of him with both his arms out. He made a bowing motion and then drew his sword back to his side leaving his unarmed left hand in front of him.

Lia could now tell that he was ready to begin, and she charged forward, rushing at him. He put up a quick guard, expecting an attack. Lia grinned at seeing this and quickly jumped to the side, pulling a pick out of her pocket. She threw it at him, hitting him in the left hand. She stopped and turned to watch him with a grin on her face.

At first, he stared at the pierced palm of his hand in astonishment. Then, the pain set in and he winced. With this site, Lia's grin became even wider. Then, Rin looked up at her with a strong fire in his eyes. "This is unexpected. I didn't think anyone in this town had such speed. This will be interesting." He reached down with his right hand and pulled the pick out of his left, throwing it to the ground afterward. He got into what appeared to be one of his favorite battle-ready stances. He stood sideways, facing away from the town. His left hand was held behind his body with his right one holding the sword blade downward towards the ground, his knees slightly bent.

Lia observed this battle stance that she had never seen before and quickly found its weakest point. She grinned again and rushed forward once more. He waited longer this time before putting up his guard, making sure that she really was going to attack him close up. She swung her dagger lightly with as little force as possible. The weapons hit softly with the sword pushing the dagger backwards. Then, Lia jumped and began to spin quickly. She held out her foot on the way around and kicked Rin in the back of the head. He fell face-first into the dirt. Blood from his hand flew to the ground ahead of him.

Lia watched satisfied as he slowly got up. He turned toward her and glared slightly. "It looks like I better get serious." He stated with little emotion. He stood back up and grabbed his sword with both hands, some of his blood trailing down the hilt of the blade.

Then, without warning, he charged forward. Lia jumped back in reaction and prepared what little guard she could muster. He swung his sword horizontally from left to right at about the height of her shoulders. She ducked out of the way and rolled to his left. She prepared to strike a spar-ending blow but was caught off guard when he spun the way he had already begun and slashed at her vertically. She rolled away astonished by his ability to cover weak points on the fly. She glared at her opponent with renewed anger.

He said mockingly "Oh, woops, looks like I cut you." Lia looked around her body for blood coming out. Indeed there was a small gash in her left arm. She looked up at him slowly with a burning rage that was much beyond any form of sensibility. She rushed forward with incredibly speed before leaping to the side. Rin gasped as he lost sight of her. "Where'd she…" Before he could finish, he heard a sharp zap and bang behind him. He turned around to see Lia up against a tree as if she had just been forced up against it.

She looked up with a look of sense back in her eyes. "Now, why'd you do that, Dindel?"

"You know you were about to fatally wound him." He glared assertively at her. Then, he returned to his normal smiling face. He held up a staff and a magical orb formed above it. The orb then split in half with half absorbing into Lia's wounded arm and half into Rin's hand. They stared at their previous wounds that were now healed over as if nothing had happened. Dindel continued speaking. "Now, I have just received word that you and I are to meet the town elder to discuss important matters. You two are welcome to join us." He turned back and began walking into town once more. Lia stood up and jogged slightly to catch up. Rin walked over to Lana and gave her a questioning look. She stood up and began following the other two, muttering something about having nothing better to do, with Rin right beside her.

As they walked to their destination, Lia and Dindel let Rin and Lana discuss what they were going to do next. Dindel thought he heard something about "following" and "adventure" but that was all he could really make out without full on eavesdropping, which he refused to do. Lia however, listened intently. Eventually she made a small growl, which alerted Dindel to something she didn't like. He gave her a 'What's wrong?' look. All she said was "I'm sure you'll see soon enough."

They got to the elder's house and bowed to the guard, as to uphold the traditional courtesy of the village. He bowed back and let them in. It was a small room with no windows and only two doors, one outside and to the other upstairs where the bulk of the living materials were. In the middle of the current room, there was the elder sitting at a tiny, classic, Japanese style coffee table that was barely big enough to fit three people at.

"Oh I didn't know you were bringing guests, my dear friends. I apologize but they will have to sit on the floor over in a corner." Dindel looked back at Lana and Rin to see their reactions. Lana just shrugged and walked over to the nearest corner where she sat down Indian style. Rin however, made a quiet comment before he sat down.

"It might not be such a good idea sitting us two back there all alone, never know what might happen." It was obvious he was being sarcastic, and the elder didn't seem to pay any attention to it. It almost seemed as though they knew each other. Still, Lana gave him a glare telling him it wasn't a good time to be joking like that. Rin took his seat half lying down next to Lana. He propped his upper body slightly on his elbows. Then, Dindel and Lia took their places at the table.

"Would any of you like some tea?" asked the elder.

Dindel didn't wait for the idea to spread before answering for all of them. "No, Chiaro. I have heard that this is grave news and I would like to hear of it immediately." His tone was dead serious and for a moment no one made a sound.

Finally, Chiaro spoke once more. "Very well." He leaned forward putting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his interlocked hands. "As you have heard, this is bad news indeed." He paused for a moment as if wondering whether or not to continue. He did so with reluctance. "You are from Rausten, correct Dindel?" said priest nodded. "Well, we hear they are searching for a traitor with the same name as you." He waited for a response from Dindel.

Dindel dropped his head slightly in a bit of shame. "Yes, I am the 'traitor'. As you know, I fled for my life away from Rausten. However, I did not flee from a shamaness as I had told you. Quite the opposite, I fled from the government with the help of a shamaness." He paused not wanting to continue with his damaged past and was relieved when Chiaro spoke.

"We know you would never do anything to threaten others lives, my friend. Especially not this treason they are accusing you of that almost started, and may still start, a war." He paused again, not wanting to have to give out the next information. "We also know how you will respond to what I am about to say…They are threatening all the surrounding villages, including ours, with destruction unless we hand you over to them."

Lia jumped up in anger. "How do they know where we are?! We have been traveling between villages every other day or so! And I've been doing everything in my power to cover any wake we may leave! How can they track us so well?!"

There was a long silence after this outburst. Lia knew they could have spies everywhere, but she didn't want to admit it. Finally, Dindel spoke once more quietly. "Let me turn myself in. It will save the people of these villages. It is the only option I have." Chiaro stared at him unwilling to say anything.

Then, the guard from outside stepped in. "We knew you would say that. We aren't going to let you. We also held a meeting with the nearby village elders and they have all agreed that they would rather fight than turn a good fellow like you over. You seem too important for them just to want you to punish you as they claim. Besides, even if we do turn you over, Rausten has been growing so powerful that we sense that they will try to invade just as Grado did in the War of the Stones. Also, according to our new king, the pontifex there has changed for the worse since he was a younger ruler, much like Vigarde did when he was emperor of Grado before the War. The situation is all too similar and I believe every country knows another great war is on the horizon, whether we turn you over or not." He concluded his speech with authority.

Dindel looked at him cautiously. After a few seconds he recognized him as Scuro, Chiaro's son who Dindel had healed after a vicious cattle stampede. Dindel opened his eyes more, still looking wary. "I cannot let you do such a thing for me. Even with all that, there is still a possibility that there may not be a war and that we may be able to avoid conflict altogether." He stood up and began walking for the door. Lia stood up behind him ready to act on her own self-interests.

However, the guard blocked the door preventing Dindel from leaving. At this point, Rin and Lana were standing as well, looking anxious. The guard spoke again. "It is the will of our villages, and we will not allow you to sacrifice yourself for a pointless cause. Besides, we should have an army from the king himself coming to aid us in this battle. We received word of his intended aid a few days ago so it should arrive anytime now."

Dindel's face became red with fury. "I refuse to let others die on my account! I wi-" He fell onto the guard, unconscious.

"Sorry, Dindel, but I am not going to allow your stupid goody-two-shoes attitude to kill the three of us." She had chopped him in the back of the neck, stopping most nerve activity from going to and leaving the brain, essentially paralyzing him for the time being.

The guard then turned to the two in the corner. "Rin, you fly a pegasus, right? Take him and fly him somewhere safe." He pushed Dindel's unconscious body onto Rin. He lifted him onto his back to make it a little easier to carry. It seemed odd that the man knew Rin, but Lana decided it was a topic for another time.

Then, Lia spoke again. "Take him to Frelia. I have good contacts there that can aid us to an extent." Lana gave her a curious stare but Lia ignored it. Rin stood there a second, still stunned from all that was happening. Lia glared at him dangerously. "Don't just stand there! Move it! I already know you were going to travel with us! This way, you can make up for your future annoyances." With that, he jumped into action walking out the door and whistling for his pegasus to come pick him and his new co-rider up.

The pegasus came flying over the building in mere instants, slowing just above them before descending rapidly to greet its master. Rin quickly threw Dindel over the lower neck of the mystical animal and jumped on the saddle behind him. He turned back to Lana and Lia and said sarcastically, "Now, I don't want to miss any good action so you'll just have to keep your beastly passion for each other in check till we see each other again." Lana rolled her eyes and Lia gave him a death glare. With a wide grin on his face, he took off northwest toward Frelia.

As he began to reach the clouds, he looked down. What he saw made him smile like nothing else could. He knew that Lana and Lia were going to be safe. He saw the Renais army marching toward the village he had just left. With an ear to ear smile on his face, he turned back to his destination.


	2. Skull Fu

(I knew I forgot something last chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fire Emblem or the countries! That belongs to…um…yeah, you know what I mean. I do, however, own the characters for this story.

Also, I noticed that fanfiction doesn't support the tilde or arrow keys or the dash mark which I had used for A/N ID, thoughts, and time jumps respectively. Thus, I will use:

"_Italics_": thoughts

**Bold**: A/N ID

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o: time jumps/new POV from now on. I may eventually get around to editing the first chapter with these things in it but that's a big eventually.

Now, time to follow Lia and Lana for a bit. **SSF**)

**Chapter 2: Skull Fu-**

Lana watched Rin fly off into the clouds with worry in her eyes "_I hope they get there safely."  
_  
"Now, quickly. We must prepare you two to follow," came the voice of Chiaro breaking up Lana's thoughts. She turned to see him and Lia walking back into Chiaro's house. She took one last worried look at the clouds and followed.

She joined Lia at the door, who was now glaring at the old man with annoyance. He was feeling along the wall as if looking for something. A small "Ahah!" confirmed that suggestion. The two women watched as Chiaro opened a hidden door in the wall and glanced as they saw a much larger room with weapons stacked along the walls.

"_No wonder it looks so big from the outside." _thought Lana, intrigued. Chiaro walked in, followed soon by the other two.

"Obviously this is our secret weapons stock. These are what we will be using to combat Rausten." He walked over to a section that held a wide array of bow styles and sizes; he took an unusually large bow with a shining bowstring. "A long bow, designed to shoot farther than normal bows would ever allow. The bow string is also made to give more distance." He handed it to Lana. She examined it and tested the string, mimicking the actions of cocking an arrow, the weight was greater but still within a comfortable range for her.

'_It doesn't seem as strong, but it certainly will make the distance,'_ she thought as she let the string from her grasp with a calming snap. Satisfied, she slung the new bow over her back, resting right beside her trusty iron bow.

Chiaro then walked over to another rack, this one was covered entirely with blades and swords all of strange and unique designs, from simple iron swords to elaborate broadswords with emblems of a thousand different meanings. He searched shortly before plucking a naked one; its blade was broad and flat, ending with a wicked curve. He grabbed a matching sheath and handed it to the ever silent Lia. "A steel blade, designed to be slow but effective.

Lia took the weapon and sheath, giving both a once over. The blade was powerful, there was no doubt. The only problem was that Lia loved her speed and wasn't sure if she would actually ever get around to using it. She sheathed the blade and locked it to her sword belt. Its large amount of weight took a second to adjust to, but soon it was an oddly comforting pressure.

"Take these with you," surprised Lia looked up barely in time to catch a canteen and bag that arced her way, catching them as they landed on her chest. She looked up to see Chiaro leaving the room with Lana trailing behind him. Lia stashed the rations in her cloak and the water on the back of her belt and rushed after. "My son will be your guide to the Frelian border. Past there, you'll be on your own."

He motioned for them to go over to Scuro, who was standing next to a small path facing the northwest through the forest. He stood there ready to go with his own bag over his left shoulder and a lance resting on his right. When they were almost close enough to touch he said, "You sure you're ready to do this?" Both Lana and Lia nodded. "Good. Now, follow me." There was a brief pause in which he turned around and began walking with the women on his heels. "I'm hoping we will see the army heading towards the village sometime soon. I know someone there that may be able to take leave to guide you through Frelian territory."

So began the long walk down the dirt path in absolute silence. They walked for what seemed like hours but could well have been only a few minutes. Lana looked up at the sky and judged the time around 11:00; they'd left no later than 9. '_No wonder I'm getting so tired. I haven't needed to travel on foot since I met Rin.'_ Her calves and thighs were stiff and ached with pain, every step adding to her discomfort. She glanced at Lia, who was as silent as ever, walking in the same steady pace as she had when they began the trek. '_Man I really need to get back in shape,' _Lana thought to herself with a silent sigh.

A few minutes later they heard the steady beat of synchronized footsteps in front, or rather Lia did. It was a few more minutes before the marching clanks came to Lana and Scuro's ears. Lia took a shaded hiding spot in the forest to her side, still managing to keep pace with the other two. Lana took out her bow and listened intently. Soon, the droning sound grew from steady foot fall to thundering boom as hundreds of more feet came into earshot along with the feet fall of iron clad hooves. Lana let loose her unknowingly held breath and placed her bow again on her back while Lia snuck back from the forest and stood beside the exhausted archer, both watching carefully for the battalion of the Renaisian army heading there way.

Moments later the first platoon walked around a bend 50 yards ahead of the company of three. It was led by a stout looking man covered head to toe in shining silver armor. He had seen them and turned around to call out his orders.

"I hope we appear as friends. It would be most unfortunate to be struck down by allies," whispered Scuro more to himself than anyone.

The platoon's leader stepped forward with his helmet held low over much of his face. Scuro saluted, soon followed by the general.

"Is Captain Annind among you?" asked Scuro.

The general paused for a moment before lifting his helm to show his face and responding, "You wouldn't happen to mean General Annind?" a wide grin lay plastered on his gruff face.

"Old friend!" He stepped forward and the two embraced in the half hug, half shake that men found appropriate. Lia rolled her eyes at this pointless show of affection.

"So, how have you been Scuro?" he began walking forward, motioning his men to follow. Scuro, Lia, and Lana turned and walked beside him.

"I'm sorry Annind, I don't have the luxury for small talk," he paused for breath and nerve before continuing, "I'm guiding these two young ladies to the border with Frelia, I was actually hoping to get you to take them farther into Frelian territory. But from the looks of it you won't be getting any time for leave."

"Oh really? Unfortunately, I'm quite tied for time. You know if in any other situation I would love to help these beauties and have –"

"No, don't continue. I cannot allow you to put your life in danger unwittingly," Scuro interrupted in a soft voice.

"Ah, anger problems, eh? Whoa!" Lia had turned and seemingly appeared in Annind's face, holding one pick up at his neck and her dagger at a lower angle and directed at his groin.

"Say something like that again, and you'll be choosing which head I'll be taking," she hissed softly. The soldiers behind the general had stopped and drew their blades.

Lana grabbed Lia's shoulder, "Down girl, let's just relax for a second. It's just words, nothing more, let it go." Lia's shoulder relaxed slightly and replaced her pick and dagger in her sleeves. "Shouldn't we be heading toward Frelia Scuro?" she asked trying to change the topic and leave.

"Oh, yes…Goodbye, Annind. I pray that you return safely…Come ladies, this way." With that the tree walked down along the lines of men. Annind blinked in surprise; he then shrugged and again motioned his men to follow him.

Scuro led them to the bend where the soldiers had first come down, though he kept going straight through the forest. Lia didn't even hesitate before leaping to the forest's low branches then landing on the underbrush below her. Lana, on the other hand, stopped at the trail and looked at them puzzled.

"Scuro… wouldn't it be faster to travel on the path?"

"Only if you'd rather go to the Renaisian castle. We need to continue northwest to get to Frelia as quickly as possible. The path would just lead us a large ways around where we want to go." Lana gave the nice and smooth looking path a longing glance before following, her legs throbbing with pain whenever she took a step, but she shoved these annoying thoughts to the back of her mind. They would do her no good for now.

They walked for miles on end taking breaks every hour or so, mostly for the tiring archer. After a while, Lana could no longer feel her legs and was forcing herself and pushing her body to the limit. When the sun finally rested below the horizon, Scuro set up what appeared to be a camp, their shelter for the night appeared to be two thick blankets on opposite sides of a spot obviously for a fire. Before he'd even got the tinder to spark Lana had sprawled out on one of the blankets and fell into deep sleep.

"The long travel must've been hard on her," started Scuro, a little concerned. Lia was silent so he looked over at her. Her eyes were quickly darting left and right at each and every sound, most of which escaped Scuro's ears, keeping a close tab on what was happening on every side of her to prevent any attempts of a sneak attack. "I take it you still don't trust me enough to let me stand watch?"

Her glazed eyes rested on him for a brief second before she spoke, "Get your rest, you damned fool."

"Figures…Well, wake me if you want a turn to sleep." He laid down on his side on top of the blanket and let the darkness flow over him and take him to sweet sleep, leaving Lia sitting next to the dwindling flames. She listened to get a mental bearing of the activity around her.

It wasn't long before her eyelids began to droop; she leaned forward slightly and felt the darkness dull her sense of the world around her. She quickly whipped her arm out and grasped the solid ground in front of her to keep her head out of the small but still dangerous fire. She stood up and set about to pacing around the perimeter of the encampment trying to keep herself awake.

That idea didn't last long; she once again sat by the fire after a few laps around the area. "_Gotta stay awake."_ She slapped her cheeks softly then stopped and listened. She heard soft mutterings behind her, along with several deep breathes that were attempting to be silenced, and then finally on her left and right, more muttering.

She drew her iron sword with her right arm, and a pick slid easily into her left, all the while continuing to imitate the signs of fatigue. The oncoming group was highly experienced and picked out this attempt to lull them into false security and halted their movement. Lia gave up the tired façade when the group stopped and waited, tensing to ready for what was about to happen. Neither group was willing to move, waiting for the other party to make the first action.

Finally, Lia's rash nature provoked her into moving first. She threw the pick in her left hand and ran to the right. The pick flew true and scored its mark on Scuro's palm. "YOWCH! What the heck?" Scuro grabbed his lance and jumped up to his feet in a ready position. "Can't you just yell to get me up like any rational person!"

Lia grinned at this, but quickly returned her attention to the person in front of her. The person who'd taken to the shadows to hide himself without success took a quick dash toward the resting figure of Lana. Lia did the same, gaining godly speed along the way. Even with the head start, the two reached Lana at nearly the same time, but Lia was far more nimble. She jumped over her sleeping companion's form and swung at the masculine figure, who quickly pulled his sword to block her blow, staggering back at the speed and strength of the blow. Lia took this break in stance to launch herself head first into a blinding assault.

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Scuro held his lance by the length of his fingers, holding the weapon at ready in front of him. He could make out at least 3 enemies, one in front with another to his right, and off to his left was the third that Lia was already in skirmish with.

The one on his right acted first, charging at Scuro, swinging his heavy axe above his head. Scuro quickly turned and jabbed out to his full length with his right arm. The enemy strafed to the right and brought the heavy slab of steel down at Scuro's head. The lancer fell backwards enough to dodge but toppled over, his opponent quickly tried to take advantage of this mishap by bringing his weapon vertically down once again. Scuro rolled clumsily sideways and tried to jump to his feet, but his foe stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar, and threw him backwards. Scuro only tumbled back two steps before the other warrior's chest slammed into his back, who quickly wrapped his arms around Scuro's armpits and locked his hands behind his neck, forcing Scuro to release his lance.

The axe wielder began to laugh with cruelty. "Man, this was easier than I could have hoped for! I at least expected a half-decent bodyguard." Scuro glared at the man angrily, realizing that it was a man, and that the one behind him was also male, making it all he could do to hold back the slight grin from spreading across his even face.

His chest then felt as if it was ready to explode, the bulky axe wielder had dropped his weapon to instead deliver painful punches to his chest and abdomen. "Feel the pain the Android bandits can bring!"

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Lana was woken up to the image of a grotesque man standing over her, she reached for her bows that she had laid beside her, only grasping at a few twigs and blades of grass. "Looking for these?" the man asked holding both her bows and her quiver.

Lana let a threatening growl rise from the depths of her throat. This action had amused the man as he laughed sarcastically. "I don't want to harm you, a face as pretty as yours would be a waste with a bruise on it," he tossed her weapons a distance behind him, earning him a blazing glare from the woman before him.

"Where are Lia and Scuro?" she managed to say with as little growl as possible.

The man motioned on either side of him, "Look around." She dared to look across the fire and saw what was Lia, and whoever she was fighting, both moving incredibly fast, both looking equally matched. She found Scuro on the other side of her, being held from behind by one man, while another proceeded to pound him ruthlessly.

"Scuro!" she sat up and was met with a very sharp blade resting on the skin on her neck.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you do that. You might hurt yourself. Now, be a good little girl and just sit still," the man said with a lusting smile on his face, Lana leered for a moment before watching Scuro again.

"Come on Scuro…"

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Lia swung her sword at the man's head again; he dodged skillfully to the right, keeping her attention completely focused on him. After several more ducks and near misses he tried a thrust at her stomach, but Lia twirled slightly to the side and ushered the man forward as a graceful matador would to a clumsy bull. She quickly countered with several slashes in alternating slices of vertical and horizontal, aiming for the small stretch between the bone of the hand and the wrist. He withdrew his blade and parried her slashes, pushing upward and forcing Lia back.

The two jumped back and stood in a semi-stand off. Lia felt the adrenaline pump to every inch of her body, after so many years of assassinations and slaughter of the weak political figures, she'd missed the thrill of an even fight, though the fact that this stranger managed to keep even with her pace left her slightly annoyed. '_Time to kick this up a notch'_ she thought to herself, stepping backwards in preparation. The man, seeing this as a sign of weakness blitzed forward, which Lia dashed around him in a tight circular motion, even with his speed he lost track of her, barely able to bring his weapon to block the swift attacks. Before he had a chance counter or guard again, Lia slashed sideways and left a long gash across the top of his chest. She continued through the slice, landing less than a few feet behind him.

The man looked down and took a moment's assessment to determine that the blow wasn't fatal but would be if he didn't wrap it up quickly. He turned to face this foe, but as he lifted his leg to make that first step, he felt a sensation that was quite unlike anything he'd felt before. He'd stepped out of his leg from his knee down, the useless stump wiggled as it tried to hold the weight that had been shifted to it, but failed, sending the man falling forward where his other leg fell off from his knee. "Talent without skill to match is still a waist," the cold assassin said as she stood over the bleeding man, she drew her new weapon and brought it down faster than any human eye could have ever followed, splitting the man in half down the center. She hefted the blade out of the soil before the man's blood could stain its tip; she sheathed the clean blade and turned back to examine the scene behind her. She didn't notice anything at first, but her senses soon brought the image of Lana kneeling with a man holding a sword to her throat in a seemingly exclusionary style. '_SHIT!'_ she thought as she darted at her new target.

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Scuro felt another explosion in his intestines as the man withdrew his fist again. "Given up already?" taunted the man holding him down as he lessened his grip slightly.

"Not likely!" he jumped backwards, throwing his entire weight onto the man holding him, and kicked out with both feet, planting them in between the assailant's legs causing him to drop like a rock. The man holding him lost his balance and started to topple backward. Scuro followed through with the original motion of the jump, turning the man's shoulders into a jumping pad, launching himself a little further back and slamming the man head first into the ground. Scuro rolled, again harnessing the momentum of that first jump to heave him forward, grabbing his lance on the way. Now that he had his weapon and was a few steps away from his foes, he planted the spear into the ground and spun around it in classic fashion.

Both men were back on their feet, one holding his crouch and the other trying to hold his head from spinning. The man grabbed his axe and tried to bring it down on Scuro's head, only to strike air from where Scuro had sidestepped, bringing the butt of his lance down on the nape of his foe's neck, slamming the man in a face-vault.

The other man drew out his sword and charged in a fevered blitz, Scuro first blocked the blow with his lance held out, then spun the lance making it parallel, jabbing the spear head into man's upper arm. The man's bloody scream echoed throughout the forest as he dropped his blade to the ground, pulling the lance from its lodging in his left arm tore more flesh out, causing the man to scurry away with his eyes tearing up in crippling fear.

Turning from the man, thinking he'd run out of terror, Scuro faced the axe-wielder again, just in time to avoid a blow at his neck. Scuro ducked away then rolled backwards, jumping up at the last roll, and jabbing at the man's torso. The man blocked his attack with the broad side of the axe. Scuro continued his assault, but each blow was blocked, until one stab slid off the surface instead of being repelled back, the point pierced in the man's bicep, causing him to fall forward and drop his axe, only catching himself with his other hand. Furry bellowed from deep within Scuro as he pulled his spear back and rammed it through the bent over man's skull, with a last twitch of life, the man's body fell limb on the forest floor.

Scuro fell forward on his hands and knees as he tried to catch his breath, he stayed there trying to collect himself when a sickening sound rang out as a sword jettisoned through Scuro's rib cage. As he fell, he turned slightly to allow him a glance at his murderer, the same man he'd thought had run in fright held the sword, grinning in triumph. Scuro willed all his energy in his arms, to try and lash out at the man, but to no avail, only barely able to glare at the man through the darkness that had entered his eyes. '_So… this is how it ends? At the hands of a coward…' _the man raised the sword above his head and with one sweeping motion, decapitated the bleeding man.

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Lia felt the weight of her body as she sped toward Lana and her captor, her legs burned as the muscles were pushed above and beyond the rate that even she could with stand. Her excellent sense of smell gave her a vital piece of information as to the man standing over Lana. He'd started sweating as male hormones started to elevate, giving him that 'just want to get laid' smell that Lia had come to recognize in cities all too often. The up side to this was that his increased scent showed that the only part of his body unprotected was his face, and his hands, and only one of which Lia could strike from her position. She hauled back and flung her iron sword at the man's sword arm, the swift moving blade split the veins carrying all blood to his hands, and every shred of flesh from the right wrist. It was a full minute almost before the man noticed the missing appendage, but Lana still stood completely frozen. Lia spared no time in jumping between the man, now holding the bleeding stump in disbelief and Lana.

'_Why isn't she moving!... Her bows!'_ Lia found the bows several paces behind the bleeding man. Again she darted around the man, grabbing bows and quiver in a sleek motion, but by the time she started around again the man had grabbed his sword with his other hand and prepared to swing it, this time she brought her dagger to halt the steel from digging into her flesh. She brought her foot around in a round-house kick to the side of the man's face, before dodging to the side and hurrying toward Lana. She dropped the weapons at the frozen girl's feet. '_WHAT'S WRONG!'_

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The sight replayed in Lana's mind again, the horrid but swift movements of Scuro's final moments. '_No! Don't make me watch it again!' _but it played through again, and in the background, she heard a slight scream that she hadn't heard before. _"Huh?..."_ She allowed it to play through again without argument. Only this time, she listened to it intently. This time, she heard no scream. She began to feel herself coming back to reality with the realization that something must be going on. Suddenly, she felt a kick in her left hip and her body falling sideways. Her face hit the ground with a thud, and her full consciousness was back.

"Wake up, you idiot!" Lia screamed from right beside her. She groaned as she felt her stomach muscles twinge after being kicked, or was it that image that refused to leave the back of her eyelids? She glanced left only to see Lia's rear right in her face, but Lana was still too traumatized to care. "GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF!" bellowed the assassin. Lana snatched up her bows and shouldered her quiver, before she could remember what happened she heard metal clashing behind her and realized Lia was no longer beside her. She stood up and found a sword again resting on her throat. She glared sideways at the same man that'd held her back from Scuro.

"Look at what that bitch did to me!" His stump was forced into her face, blood pumping out of it quicker and quicker. He held his voice to let the effect sink in.

But Lana didn't let him continue, her hatred had started to bubble up throughout her body. "Aww…poor baby" The man screamed in rage and swung his sword at her. Lana ducked and pulled an arrow out, along with her iron bow and began to roll backward. She felt her rear hit the ground and released the cocked arrow into the man's jaw, all in one fluid motion. Bile formed in her mouth as the man's head looked over at her, giving the same look Scuro had at his death. As the man fell forward she began to say something that she never imagined she would say. "Like getting skull fu-?" She stopped herself realizing what she was about to say_. "I have got to stop letting Rin rub off on me like that…"_ she thought. She then turned to do what she could for Lia; she couldn't take another death of a friend.

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Lia easily parried the man's attacks with her knife, before countering with swift slashes at his face and joints. He backed up and grimaced at the pain of the cuts now littering his body. Lia grinned like a maniac, this man might have some strength, but he was slower than a slug to her, she took her time slashing into his flesh, making sure not to hit anything vital and not going too deep, his entire body was covered with his own blood from the numerous shallow wounds. Lia peeked over at Lana to check on her, and saw her put the arrow through the man's head. Lia frowned. She didn't want Lana to see the torture she'd been inflicting on the man. She brought her knife across the man and cut him into at least 8 different pieces, turning him into a pile of bloody flesh in an instant.

Lana walked over to Lia and stood there in silence, using all her will power to keep the tears from cascading down her face. Lia quickly noticed the absence of the third member of their party, and asked "Where's Scuro?"

Lana couldn't hold it in anymore, she fell forward and let loose the dammed up flow of tears. Dhe hadn't even known him long, but she'd already grown to trust him, and now he died just because he was helping them.

Lia was surprised by this outburst, but quickly realized, that instead of their being the 4 bodies of the attackers, a fifth lay beside one of them. The young man's body lay less than three feet from them, "Damn…" was all Lia could say.

After a long pause Lia spoke up, "We need to move, someone might have heard the skirmish…" She grabbed the packs and blankets, and finally took Scuro's pack and valuables along with the sword she'd thrown. "We'll set out after the sun rises. We need to get to Frelia." Lana watched as Lia said all this with an even face and cold eyes, she mechanically followed, knowing Lia was right, but all the while she kept wondering if Lia even had a heart.

(Another thing I forgot last time…Ending notes. Well, I hope you like it so far. I'll try to update soon. Sorry it took so long this time. My editor took a rather long vacation. glares at Blaze (What? I can't help if my parents wouldn't let me take my laptop **Blaze**) Whatever…These are long chapters anyway, so don't expect three day updates like you get from those other crazy authors. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Review and wait for the next installment please. **SSF**)


	3. Yue are good!

(A/N: Blaze hath written this chapter for the most part, as opposed to SSF writing it an I typing/editing it. Tell me how you like/dislike it and visible differences please. **Blaze**)

(Yes and sorry about the somewhat late update again…I had to go to a family reunion that was 5 days long. Anyway, I'm back and on with the chapter! **SSF**)

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**Yue are good!**

Rin landed his pegasus in the first decent-sized town in what he supposed was Frelia. He landed near a stable and ushered his majestic companion in. _'Hope they don't mind if we borrow a stall…'_ he thought after taking a glance around the unmanned stables.

"Stay here for a while Inugami and get some rest. That flight must have taken a lot out of you…" Inugami neighed and positioned herself in the nearest stall. When the Pegasus got settled in, Rin walked over and retrieved the unconscious figure of Dindel, then laid him in a near-by pile of hay. He looked around the small stables again. His eyes finally landed on the priest of a companion. "I'm going to have to carry you, wont I?"

Silence answered his question. Rin groaned to himself. It was hard enough walking on his own, having just removed himself from the seat he'd sat in for the past countless hours. His balance was still stuck in the 'flight' mode, and his lungs came in erratic and broken breaths, trying to re-adjust to the rich quantity of the oxygen around him.

Rin walked out into the near-empty town burdened with a short supply of necessities across his back and Dindel slumping over his arms while being carried in an attempt to mimic bridle style. His first step out echoed as a single sound, silently echoing off the buildings around them. His eyes gazed up at the sun that lay in the arms of the land he had been rushing to meet all day. Rin stayed in that spot for a second before heading on toward the inn he'd seen as they had touched down.

It being an inn only in title, its outward appearance showed it hadn't been bothered with to maintain an appealing sight. Its windows were broken and fixed with strips of cracking plaster, the walls grew fungus as bad as a garden without a gardener, and the ceiling might as well be a fishing net to keep water out. Inside the 'lobby', a term used here for lack of a better word other than open space with nothing in it, was an aging desk. Behind it was a woman reading a romance book sizing twice her head in thickness, completely oblivious to the two customers that had just entered.

Rin dragged himself to the desk and waited patiently for the woman to look up from her reading material and check them in. When no such movement was made after several pages, Rin cleared his throat, before letting the soft-toned voice carry his request to the receptionist's ears, "Excuse me, we need a-"

"Only room left is the honeymoon retreat," the clerk interrupted, her eyes still darting back and forth along the lines of her book, "still interested?" her smile seemed anxious and leaked out from the edges of her turned face.

Rin's eye twitched slightly. His gaze turned to a slight glare as he laid the sleeping priest on the counter. The resulting thud brought the woman out from behind her book, the small glasses she wore slid down to the tip of her nose, and her eyes looked up with curiosity. Her eyes that once scrutinized her book now lay on Rin's face as he seemed to pat down his backside.

When Rin found the small pouch on his belt he removed it and flipped it around so the actual bag was below his hand, then laid it right next to Dindel's head. "How much is it?"

The clerk's gaze continued to stare into Rin's eyes a short while after his question, confusion dotting her brow. "Uh…oh! Yes, it-it's 42 gold please." Rin loosened the tether around the mouth of the bag and pulled the round bits of gold out laying them in a spiral formation of the desk. "Yes, well… Down the hall, last door on the right," the clerk said as she pointed to a small hallway off to the side.

Rin picked up his pouch and replaced it in a hidden fold of his belt. Then, taking Dindel, he started on his way, having to turn around halfway to retrieve the keys from the desk. When he reached the hallway the second time Rin stopped and listened as the women turned another page of her book. "M'am, your book…" The woman looked up again as he spoke. "I just thought you should know, he dies in the end." With the last word, Rin pushed forward again and headed for the room, satisfied by the sudden flood of page turning that followed.

With every step Rin took, the ache and pain of his neglected muscles increased, barely opening the door before he dropped the bags and every other item that labored him, omitting Dindel of course. The room really lived up to its name, consisting of a window with thick curtains covering it, a stiff looking wooden chair that Rin could only guess what it was doing there, and a rather small bed that looked as if it could only hold one and a half people. Rin picked himself up and forced his body to get Dindel onto the bed, though upside down, the deed was done. With that Rin felt the icy grip of unconsciousness around his mind and fell into the darkness on top of Dindel.

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Rin woke up thanks to a small sliver of light slipping through the curtains; his face felt the soft embrace of a blanket, coaxing him to continue to sleep, but a rather annoying pressure in his lower abdomen kept him from reaching sleep again. The pegasus knight raised his head slightly and opened his eyes to capture the sight of whatever it was that was causing him his discomfort. He saw first a staff jabbing into his side, and the arm attached to it seemingly disappeared underneath another body. He quickly pushed himself to his feet. "A little fast, don't you think Dindel?" said Rin more to himself than the still resting healer, who now, without the pressure of Rin atop him, was emitting a snoring sound. Rin walked over to Dindel and examined his vitals, "all normal…that's good. But lord, Lia really did a number on you…and she _likes_ you… I think, eh, what do I know, anyways?"

With that, Rin turned and replaced the armor and a few sacks he'd carried in from last night, each in their own space. When Rin opened the door, a stray thought pierced the serine state he'd entered. _'…Where's my lance? I didn't leave it with Inugami…don't tell me I left it at that small ass village!'_ he gave the room a once over, before he knew the lance was gone. "Damn…" Rin walked out the door, and as he closed the door, he gave a final call out into the room, "You just sleep there honey, I'll be back in a few." His face was stuck somewhere between 'I'm so guilty I can't hide it' and 'I'm going to split my face in half with laughter' when he saw the reaction of the woman at the desk, who was still was reading a book.

Rin stepped out into the town. In size, it was probably a little bit above average, most likely there was a military station around here and this was the town that supported it. Shops and restraints were already open and a few had their first customers. Other buildings included homes and ones meant for governing. One in particular caught Rin's interest, a rather large round one. Its shape and size reminded him of somewhere he'd seen before, but in the morning, his brain was still on autopilot, and the purpose of the structure eluded his thought. When Rin finally found the small stable that he'd left his pegasus in, he was almost fully awake.

The stalls all contained horses except three, all of which held white-winged pegasi, the one nearest to him being Inugami, who upon his entrance looked over and gave an irate neigh. "Ha, you think I'm going to make you fly again after yesterday? I wouldn't dare! You need to rest…Just relax for a while, ok. I think we-" Rin said to the glaring pegasus when a voice behind him interrupted him.

"So, _you're_ the owner of this pegasus! I was wondering who the culprit was!" yelled the voice coming from a doorway behind on of the stalls.

"What do you mean culp-" Rin started as he turned to face whoever was behind him, his hand unconsciously on the hilt of his sword. What he met wasn't what he expected. There in the doorframe was a woman, slightly shorter than Rin. She wore her deep purple hair in a pony tail with her bangs swept to the side of her head in a shape that reminded him of Inugami's fully spread wings. Her skin was a deep brown tan, her eyes appeared to hold the golden sun, her body was toned with muscles, and she wore a black body suit covering all but her head, neck, hands, and feet. This brought the word 'spandex' to Rin's dazed mind. She also had on a bright orange shirt/skirt thing that covered her 'accessories' slightly but still allowed their volume to show despite the black that also covered it. The woman stood there leaning against the frame, giving Rin a bone-chilling gaze. Not that he noticed. He was to busy trying to banish every thought that entered his mind for fear of his stupidity leaking through his mouth as usually happened when in the presence of another person.

The woman walked over to him with a determined look on her face. Rin followed her movements blankly. "Pay up!" the woman said when she had come within arms reach of him, thrusting her hand in his face.

"Wha-? For what?" Rin asked, trying to get the hand away from his face. He felt too exposed with the hand mere inches from his neck.

"Using the stall last night! I don't run this place for free you know. Now pay up the full 35 gold."

"Sheesh, I'm using more cash for lodging in one night than I could use at a strip bar in my whole life…" Rin muttered to himself, thrusting the pieces into the woman's waiting hands.

"He can stay over night tonight for another 16 gold, and food and grooming is also 10 gold." Her hand stayed put, not satisfied with the weight it bore.

"I swear, its con the new guy day, isn't it?" Rin asked himself as he dropped the final coin in her hand.

The woman pulled her hand back, quickly counted to check for 'errors' but found none, then pocketed the stash in a pouch under her orange shirt. "Thank you very much," she said with an accompanied jingle from her hidden pouch. "If it's not too nosy of me to ask, why'd you push him into such a state?"

Rin looked back at her from his position beside his steed. "Yeah… I didn't have time to care for him last night."

"Why's that?"

Rin's memory kicked in and replayed his embarrassing moment when he woke up. "I had a date for some hot, kinky man-sex last night," the woman gave a look of utter repulsion before she changed it to a 'bullshit' look. A few seconds under this new look and Rin caved in, "I had a friend that needed taking care of…"

"And he isn't your friend?" the woman asked, motioning to Inugami.

"No, he's probably my best friend, and it hurt me so much to do what I did. No literally my back is killing." The joke just seemed to annoy the woman further. _'She's just like Lana when it comes to my jokes…' _Rin thought to himself with a sigh. "Anyways, my friend was hurt and I needed to get out of Renais, so I had to push him harder than I should have," Rin said, giving his companion a rub, "but I think he understands. Besides, if I hadn't done that, I would be suffering a far worse fate than this."

"Oh?" the woman asked, "and what would that be?"

"Well my friend's friend would probably try to decapitate me, and I don't mean the head on my shoulders…" Rin replied, muttering the second half under his breath.

The woman seemed content with his answer; she turned around and looked at the other mounts that were in their stalls, checking in on a few of them, before she again faced Rin. "Why did you need to get out of Renais?"

Rin immediately realized his mistake and cursed his stupidity. "Renais? Er… I don't know what you're talking about. I…er… damn it!" Rin finished as he saw the woman's face. It wore the 'who do you think you're fooling' expression that he often got. He gave a sigh of defeat before continuing. "He had some _issues_ that he needed to get away from, and that's all I really can say without his friend I mentioned before using my head for her new pincushion." The woman continued to give him a piercing stare, obviously trying to erode his wall of mystery and learn more about him, but never said a word. After a few minutes of this Rin turned back to Inugami, pulled a brush from one of the saddle bags, and proceeded to groom her. The woman also stood beside the pegasus and used her own comb to help with the task. "Um, miss…"

"No miss; my name's Urahara Yoruichi, but you can call my Yue, that's what everyone else calls me."

"Well I'm Rin, just Rin. Now, Yue, why exactly are you so interested in me?" Rin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, with sign up over, most of us, the townspeople that is, didn't really expect anyone else coming till it actually starts."

"Wait, what?"

"The tour-" Her reply was cut off by the sound of the door that Rin had come in through being kicked in. Right outside the door were two men, both dressed in a black outfit of some kind, their faces covered by matching masks. "What do you two want?"

The one closest to the door looked over his shoulder at the other, the farther of the two met his gaze and answered a few seconds later. "Is this the stable that lord Yuganz has his mount in?"

"And if it is?" Yue asked, her body in an unnaturally tense state. Her arms locked at her side, and her face a forced façade of indifference with anger seeking release through her twitching eye.

"If it is? Well, we'll have to ask you to step out for a while then," the second replied, even behind his mask the frame of his smile shown through.

"And if I refuse?" this time Yue had brought a small dagger from her belt, raising it in a defense position.

"We'll kill you," the first one said in a monotone, showing no emotions in its darkened eyes.

"Just try-" Yue started, the dagger was already cupped in her hand, ready to be used as a dart at a moment's notice, but Rin's arm shot between the two men and Yue, silencing her voice. His other hand was on his sword's hilt, with his back to Yue. The two men on the other hand had the _fortune_ to see a face that could frighten the demon king himself. The once glowing eyes that showed such great kindness and an overall sensation of carefree, now were stained with fury. "Rin, what are you-" Yue started, ending abruptly at the tensed arc of his body. She barely noticed when he turned his head around to partly face her.

"I can't let a woman do the fighting when an able-bodied man could just as easily do it, now can I?" His eyes looked back at her with the same kindness they always held; his face held an even smile, but the second he turned back, the façade he wore melted off and was replaced with the vile image of hatred. "I'm going to have to ask you two to step away from the stable. I don't want any of the steeds hurt."

"Fool! You think you can take the woman's place? Fine, we'll kill you first just to show her we mean business!" yelled the second one, his emotions already moving to an extreme of anger this time. The two stepped back and moved around the building, ending up in a vacant street lined with some aged stores on one side and the opening to the lands outside the village.

"Here, this is good," the first of the two said, pulling out his weapon from god-knows-where. The axe head was about the size of a normal head, its handle reached about the length of a forearm and its surface glimmered in the late morning light, despite the dark red stains that littered it in random splotches. "Ku, you know what to do," the first said in his toneless voice, the second nodded in agreement, pulling out his own weapon, a spear about half his height with a spear head that curved as a spade.

Yue and Rin quickly followed. Yue was still only speaking in half-sentences, trying to convince Rin that he didn't need to do that, but he only waved her pleas off. He turned to give her a slight smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Rin walked up in front of the two men. The second one, Ku, raised his spear and pointed it at the offender's chest, "There's no reason for you to be ready, Rinje. I'm going to kill this fool before he even has time to regret his decision to take us on."

Rin held his gaze and withdrew the sword at his waist. Its black steel gave off a quick glare from the sun before darkening to its true color. Rin gave Ku one last glare before lowering the tip of his blade to the ground in front of him with the hand holding it still near his middle. "Come at me."

Ku made a swift strike; his spear jabbing at least ten times before he stopped, but each stab had either been dodged completely or deflected by Rin's sword. "My turn now?" Rin asked bringing his sword a little higher. An instant later, Rin swung his sword around twice, leaving a large X on Ku's chest. "Now you," Rin muttered, using the momentum of the swing to turn his body and jettison it at Rinje, who brought his axe-head up in hopes to hinder the blow. However, the sword just sliced through, leaving a long and deep gash beside his nose, piercing his skull and brain case.

"Wow…" Yue said to herself loudly, catching Rin's attention from the dead and dieing bodies. "I don't know what to say."

"I'm not all that up to date on mannerisms and stuff, but I think the words you're looking for might be, 'Thank you'?" Rin teased, easily slipping back into his laid back personality.

"Yes, well… thank you. It's just, I donno. I mean you were pretty good, I'd have thought someone of your skills would have tried to enter the tournament."

"The what now?" Rin asked. He'd yet to hear anything about a tournament, and he was intrigued.

"The tournament, our town is hosting a tri-yearly tournament for Frelia, so every strong fighter around comes to prove their skills thought most get eliminated in the prelims because they are so tough to get through. It's strange seeing someone with talent not in the tournament."

"How did you know I wasn't in?"

Yue giggled slightly, "I have my connections to the roster. I know everyone who's entered, and there's no one by the name 'Rin' in it. Hey I got an idea! I'll get you into the tournament as payment for saving me."

"Can't I just get a check?"

Yue shook her head, "No, the tournament is _much_ better. The grand prize is supposedly a powerful weapon that's been in the royal family for years, worth millions."

Rin had barely paid attention till the last part, "millions you say? Count me in!" he handed a slip of paper that he wrote the name of the hotel he stayed at to her. "Here's where I'm staying at. Let me know if I can get in later, ok?" Not waiting for an answer, he turned and left, heading straight back to the honeymoon room.

When he reached the Inn, he saw that the woman that had been working the desk was now replaced with a man probably twice her age. Rin ignored him and continued back to his room, where Dindel still lay on the bed in a state of unconsciousness. Rin stopped over the lying man and whispered in his ear, 'Hey, sleeping beauty, **WAKE UP!**" finishing at an earsplitting volume that he'd learned how to reach from Lana.

There was no reaction at all. _'Lia must have really done a number on him if it put him out like this for so long.' _He sat down in the wooden chair, still exhausted from his all day ride from the day before. His pained muscles soon relaxed, and he was soon asleep once more.

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Rin woke up with his legs and head draped over the armrests of the wooden chair. He quickly jumped up and stretched his previously tensed muscles. The pain had eased greatly giving him the idea he had taken a pretty long nap. He walked over to the window and looked past the curtains. He could tell the sun was almost directly over him. _'Wow! I feel awfully rejuvenated for such a short nap.'_

He walked out of the room after glancing at the still unconscious form of Dindel. He looked down the hall and saw the lady he had met the first night he had stayed there. He hollered down at her. "Hey, you're back awful quick. Couldn't get enough of me, could ya?" He let his sarcasm get the best of him in the end.

The woman looked up from her book, confused. "What do you mean? It's been a full day. And you owe us another 42 gold for last night!"

"WHAT?" He yelled loud enough for the whole inn to here him. Luckily, not many other guests were there. Rin stopped and thought for a moment. _'Yue must not've gotten me into the tournament or she would've come and woken me up. Damn, and I would've enjoyed myself, too.'_ He looked back at the clerk, who was giving him a glare. "Oh, right, I'll come pay you in a second."

He walked back into the honeymoon suite and glared at Dindel. "Are you ever gonna wake up so you can take some of this bill?" He leered a second longer before returning out the door and down the hall to the clerk. He pulled his bag out and paid her quickly before running out the door to the stables.

He checked Inugami and looked around for Yue. He found no sign of her. _'Damn it! I guess she went to the tournament.' _With that assumption, he went back to the inn.

He entered the room and walked over to Dindel and put his mouth right next to his ear. He repeated his earlier exercise of "Hey now, this joke is getting really old, **WAKE UP!**"

The reaction was far from immediate. In fact, Rin had stood up and went through some of his packs before Dindel opened his eyes to the unfamiliar ceiling. "Where am I?" he moaned, rubbing his neck. "Ahhgg…I feel as if someone has slammed a hammer through the back of my neck."

"More like Lia's fist. Very close guess though," Rin said as he looked over at the holy man.

"Your name's Rin isn't it?" Dindel asked, taking in his surroundings. While waiting for a reply, he noticed the absence of the usual growl or glare from Lia to acknowledge his presence. "And where's Lia?"

"Well I see your extended nap hasn't disrupted your memory. Yes, my name is Rin," he said, taking a seat on the wooden chair, and grimaced as his mind brought images of what could be hidden on the surface of the chair that he had been to tired to think of before. "As for your second question, I don't know where Lia is. She and Lana were unable to fly with us. Inugami has a two person limit you see, and well they told me to go to Frelia and wait for them."

Dindel's usual calm and even face broke into a borderline panic form. "This is bad, this is bad, this is _bad!_" he ranted while gripping his face as if to make sure it was not falling off.

"Calm down…easy…What's so bad now?" Rin asked, his hands motioned to physically lower the fear in Dindel.

"Do you know what she's capable of!" he practically yelled, his eyes were filled with terror. Rin shook his head, confusion littered his face. "One time I left her for half a day, _half a day,_ so I could meet with an old friend before leaving Rausten, when I came back she'd practically flattened the town. If I had been back a moment later I fear she might have taken down the temple! A TEMPLE! She has no self-conscious or control. If I'm not around her constantly who knows what she could-no _would_-destroy."

Rin continued to stare blankly before a slight grin spread across his face, "around her _constantly, _you say?" his eyes were pools of pure mischief as he looked at the trembling priest, earning him a soft rapt from the end of his staff. While nursing the small bump on his head Rin decided to ask another question that could end with another rapt. "So, what exactly is you all's relation ship anyways? Somehow, I don't see her as the type that would go out of her way to protect someone." Again, he let his eyes twinkle at the slightly forming blush that decorated his companion's cheeks.

Dindel stared at the covers, trying to put into words how they were, but when no words came, he knew he couldn't explain the complex predicament they were in. He decided to just tell Rin the story behind them. "At first, she came to collect on the 50,000g bounty on my head, but she was weak from fatigue and hunger." Rin's mind wandered at the thought of Lia being weak but quickly refocused on the story being told. "So, I and another bounty hunter, who also came for the same reason as her but changed his mind when he met me, helped her back to health. She's stayed with me ever since. I think she's trying to pay me back for what I did, but she's saved me so many times over I don't know how to thank her." His eyes showed a slight hint of sorrow while his face had a slight smile off to the side. "And besides, I have to keep her from harming as many people as I can!" His voice was rushing at the end, attempting to explain why he had stayed with her.

"So you like her, huh?"

Dindel's slight blush grew deeper. "No! Err… we just help each other out, that's all," waving his hands slightly to ward off the pressing gaze Rin was giving him. _'Hehehe, help each other out, Riiight. He so likes her.' _"So what about you and Lana?" asked Dindel, breaking Rin from his thoughts.

'_Damn,'_ Rin thought as he looked at Dindel, putting up a slight mask of ignorance, "what about me and Lana?" he asked, keeping his tone as even as possible.

"I mean how did you two meet? You two seem very _close_," Dindel said, stressing the last word.

"Oh, how we met. Well… it's been a while, I believe we met when she saved me from an archer when I let my mind wander, and after that she helped me cope with some old memories." Rin gave a true look of ignorance and scratched at the back of his head, trying to remember any more details, but none came.

"So you-" Dindel started before a loud slam issued from the door as Yue swung it wide open and hitting it on the wall.

"I DID IT! IT TOOK SOME DOING BUT I DID IT!" she screamed. Then, running up to Rin, she stuck a piece of paper under his nose. "LOOK! I got you in the tournament! But hurry, you've got an extra match to do and it starts in five minutes so move it!"

Yue dragged Rin and his packs behind her in a storm of dust as they headed for the arena, leaving Dindel gaping at the open door. "No one ever listens to me anyways…" he muttered before following them.

Dindel followed them into a large domed building, the guard only allowing him in after taking the 15 gold entrance fee. When light poured into the small hallway that was the entrance, Dindel saw something that both sickened and amazed him, a large and elaborate design that was the building itself carved and kept to perfection. The stands surrounded the central area that was used for the actual fighting, the higher up you went the more room there was between seats. It was probably designed to make more want to sit up higher instead of piling around the bottom. But the thing that sickened Dindel the most was what lay in the very center of the architectural marvel, and that was the mounds of mangled corpses of man, beast, and monster alike. Now, standing in the center was Rin, dressed in the dulled blue, almost white armor of Frelia. His red hair bound behind him in a sharp ponytail. His opponent stood almost two feet over him on the opposite side of the arena, his whole body was covered by a deep red armor at least three times the thickness of Rin's, and in his hands, was a massive sword that looked almost the size of Dindel, both were glaring at the other in complete suspense.

"We've had an unexpected preliminary match here due to a very late entry!" came the booming voice of an announcer from along the side of the arena. "It is our number one ranked Lord Yuganz-" There was a loud roar of cheers at the sound of the name. "-vs. an unranked competitor named-" There was a slight pause and some chatter along side of the arena. Finally, the announcer came back on. "-Rin!" A slight flood of boo's echoed through the stadium. "Begin!" The two stood there and continued to stare at each other.

Then, without warning, Lord Yuganz swung his sword in a large arc where Rin's neck had been only moments before, but by the time the blade reached that spot, Rin was already slamming his elbow into a joint on the inside of the general's shoulder. They broke apart and continued to stare each other down, then made 3 or 4 more attacks ending the same as this. When they finally finished, the general decided to try and goad an enraged attack. "You're nothing but a quick little child. While I'm in this armor, your attacks do nothing but tickle me. Draw your sword if you dare face me!"

Rin gave a small grin and said in a voice only slightly above a whisper, "I wasn't trying to hurt you yet, but I'll draw my sword none-the-less." Rin unsheathed his blade and held it forward at his foe. "Now things are going to get much more interesting."

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(Now, then…I figure it's about time I start giving profiles for my characters…I'll start with Dindel since he hasn't been deleted from my computer yet.

Name: Dindel Gerounde  
Gender: Male  
Age: 29  
Class: bishop  
Weapon: lightning tome/heal staff  
Country: Rausten

Look: He's a typical priest. White robes, hood he never wears, etc. He has gentle green eyes and a kind smile. He also has long flowing black hair running down to the middle of his back.

Bio: He grew up in a kind family that encouraged him becoming a priest. When he was 15 years old, his parents were slaughtered by some sellswords. He still doesn't understand the reason for this. As his parent's wishes, he decided to become a priest in their rememberance. He became trusted by many of the other priests of Rausten and quickly grew in popularity with both them and the common people. Thus, he rose through the ranks until he was announced a bishop in a remarkable ceremony. Then, he served the pontifex for 3 years. He got to know the ponifex and learned he wasn't quite the holy man Dindel thought he was. He thought it best to quit his own worshipping of this "holy" ruler and set out to spread his own ideals and thoughts throughout the world. This is how is nowadays. 

Now then, I am going to give a little puzzle and the first person to respond with the correct answer will get the prize of sending me a profile of a character to put into the story granted it probably won't show up until around Ch 10 but still. It involves some algebra so you people that hate math will probably hate me.

DONALD

GERALD

ROBERT

Each letter corresponds with a number 0-9 and none of the letters are the same. To get you started, D5 **SSF**)


	4. The Wonders of Porn?

(There has yet to be anyone to answer the question of the previous chapter so its still open to have your character put into the story sometime later on. Anyway, read on before I go off on some tangent of a rant. **SSF**)

The Wonders of…Porn?

Lana winced at the pain in her calves and thighs. She looked ahead at the composed Lia. _'How is she not tired?'_ Lana thought as her eyes looked to the sky. The sun was already setting…again. She let an exhausted sigh from her throat. They'd been walking since the sun rose, and now that Scuro wasn't there any more…_'NO! Keep your mind off of that,' _she reminded herself, still wishing to hear his voice asking the heartless beast to rest.

She looked up at Lia again, knowing that she was slowing her down but doubting there was anything she could do about it, but the lingering fear of being abandoned refused to dissipate. Instead of dwelling on the fears and pain, Lana pushed herself even harder, but only managed to travel in the thick brush at a slow crawl. A false hope of their destination hiding over each hill kept her going, while the thought of seeing Rin and hearing his humor was what kept her from breaking down after they started down each valley.

When the last trace of the sun slid below the horizon, Lia stopped at the edge of grassy clearing. Beside her, Lana collapsed in a pile of throbbing muscles. Lia turned her eyes to her traveling companion with a scorching scowl. _'Wimp.'_ She then looked straight ahead but still directed her voice at the laying girl, "You're on you own till dawn…" Lana remained where she lay. "You living kid?" the pale eyed assassin asked. Lana seemed to shudder slightly then let out a semi-loud snore. If looks could kill, then whatever lay on the other side of the planet would have feared for their lives from the glare Lia was giving. _'The one night I need her help!'_ she thought bitterly while taking a seat in the crook of two branches. Her eyes drooped with fatigue from staying up the last two nights making sure whoever attacked them wouldn't catch them so off guard again. Lia focused all her attention on her hearing, listening in on the chorus of crickets and the opera of frogs, lulling her conscious to the dark embrace of sleep.

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_At first darkness, darkness as far as the eye can see, just on the edge of vision, a glint of light hovered, only to dodge away when the eyes turned to face in that direction. After a moment in this shadow world, a white cottage blurs a few meters ahead. A green lawn…and two small blonde headed girls running in white cotton dresses. One of them turns and gives a giant grin, her deep blue eyes shining with the fleeting sun, and she gives a slight giggle before running back to the cottage and the other girl. The atmosphere gives off a happy vibe, but when the comfort of this image starts to set in, the scene turns a bloody red, and from this liquid coloring, a dark flame arises, sending the entire image to a pile of ashes. From this pile of what was good, a woman crawls forth, her skin a pale white, her hair stained as the pile of ash, and where a grin once was, there was now a slight scowl. Her blue eyes now blood stained a royal purple with the blood of those who once lived. She stands there and lets out a harsh laugh as the ashes are taken to the wind. The woman then turns her back and starts off, in her hand holds her father's sword, now stained with his blood. When the woman stops, she is standing before someone clothed in robes bearing a royal crest. The figure puts its hand on the woman's head and speaks, "you've done well, child. You'll be a treasured puppet…"_

Lia jumped up from her version of a bed, her daggers drawn and at the ready, sweat staining her hair to her brow. _'DAMNIT! What does it mean? For so long it has been the same, now this! What does it** MEAN!**'_ she mentally screamed. Then, she let a soft sigh protrude from her lips. She knew there was no time, nor use in thinking about it. She had to find Dindel. He usually helped suppress these god awful nightmares. She jumped down to the forest floor and headed toward the clearing that Lana still lay asleep in, much to Lia's displeasure. "Wake **up**."

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_A wood cottage stands silent in a small field of grass. A vegetable garden can be seen on one side. A young teenager, no older than 15, sits on the steps leading to the door, crying into her hands. People walk by and only glance at the girl as if they consider her inferior. She is very thin, obviously underfed, and wears a blue shirt with a padded shoulder. Her pants are brown and torn around the ankles. The entire scene gives her the look of poverty. The only things of any real value are a bow and the quiver of arrows on her back._

_The girl slowly stops crying, lowers her hands from her face, and gazes up in front of her into the forest that engulfs the small village. Then she speaks in a voice barely above a whisper, "I don't need this anymore…" She grabs her bow and stands up, heading at a fast paced walk for the seclusion of trees. Somewhere behind her someone cries out her name._

"_LANA! Wait! You won't survive a day out there!" comes a concerned voice sounded only in the vaguest sense feminine. She continues to walk with her eyes locked on her destination. Then, the voice changes from concern to a sound of cold hatred, "Lana, Wake up!"_

Lana felt a sharp sting in her side, and the image from the depths of her past faded into oblivion. She groaned and opened her eyes to the brightening light of sunrise. Lia stood over her, glaring at her as usual. Her growl showed she was _not_ in a good mood. "Do you _have_ to kick me to wake me up, or wake me up at the crack of dawn, for that matter?"

"If you'd wake up the first time…" she started, letting the unfocused gaze of hatred finish her sentence. Lana didn't respond, knowing that she'd only provoke an argument, which was the last thing she wanted, whether it be because she'd get no peace for the rest of the journey or the fact that Lia might just tear her face off, no one knows.

She gathered her things as Lia waited in her usual silence. Soon, they picked up where the left off yesterday, Lana dieing of exhaustion and Lia trotting ahead as if it were no effort. Eventually, Lana broke the silence to protect her sanity. "How much longer till we get there?" she asked in a truly child-like fashion.

Lia continued to keep her gaze on the path ahead, answering to the road ahead instead of her companion as what was the regular for the two women. "We should hit the border at noon…Then a few hours till we hit a town I have connections in." Lana smiled at the mere mention of a village. Lia then continued, which was beyond anything conservable as normal. "And I believe there's a tournament going on." Lia grinned at this, hoping to sharpen her blades in the corpse of those that fell victim to her blade.

Lana glared at her. _'Of course there's an ulterior motive…'_ none-the-less Lana felt chipper knowing she could sleep in an actual bed and eat real food tonight. The silence started to sink in again before she realized something and said it quietly to herself. "Wow, that's probably the most I've heard her say…ever."

"You're probably the second person I've said so much to," Lia called over her shoulder.

With that statement they continued to walk in silence for the rest of the morning and afternoon, each lost in thought of their dreams or whatnot, with Lana walking a few paces behind Lia, staring at her companions feet unconsciously, and Lia keeping her ears tuned in on the closest thing to a female friend she has ever had.

When the sun had covered almost two thirds of its path, the two worn women reached the village, their stomachs bellowing with hunger. Taking the dirt path between the buildings, Lia was able to find a small restaurant, an uncommon conversation started when they sat in their chairs.

"Oh god, this is _heaven_," Lana moaned with pleasure. The aches and pains of the long journey seemed to melt off like they were nothing. "So, what exactly is this tournament for?"

"Fun really, but winners usually get high positions in the Frelian army,"

"Really?" Lana asked without much attention on the conversation.

"Cash prizes usually, also. If only we'd been here earlier…" she said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Behind them a man walked up from where ever he sat to join the two women's conversation, "It's also rumored that the princess will be giving the prize this year," the man added as he gave a hungry look at Lia.

Lana's mind had been spacing out, but at the mention of the Frelian princess her focus on the tournament became top priority, "Really!" she exclaimed. "We've got to go now," she said to Lia, who'd replaced her look of comfort to a threatening glare at the man that had joined them. "When does it start?" Lana asked the man.

The man looked out the window and pretended to look smart, failing miserably in the eyes of present company. "From the sounds of it…now." Lia cocked an eyebrow and listened carefully. She heard the small talk from around the room with ease, but under that was a sound of cheering that she'd unconsciously shut out so Lana could eat. She looked over at the archer and grinned at the anticipation growing in her eyes. Obviously, she wanted to go as well. Lia took off from her seat and made her way to the door, tracking the ever constant sound from the roaring crowd.

Lana barely caught the brief image of Lia slipping out the door. _'How does she do that?' _Lana turned to the stranger and thanked him for his help, then dashed after Lia, leaving the man looking at the door and thanking the gods he didn't hook up with a bunch of crazies. The dull pain assaulted Lana as she attempted to keep up with the speed of Lia's legs, knowing if she fell behind that she might never see Rin again.

She caught up with Lia in front of a small arena. Out of her breathe, Lana put her hands on her knees and gasped for air. With a slight look of excitement, Lia walked toward the audience entrance, with Lana following behind, still panting. At the door a guard stopped them with the lance in his hands. "It's 15 gold to see the matches." Lia gave the man a death glare that'd make any veteran fighter turn tail and run like a child. She reached out and grasped the lance just below the head and snapped it in half with a simple twist of the wrist. The guard gaped down at her as if she'd sprung horns and a forked tail, watching as Lia threw the point into the wall and walked on into the stands.

Lana followed but stopped briefly in front of the guard to mutter a hasty apology with a curt bow.

They entered the arena and grabbed the rail near the edge to the fighting stage below. Two men stood in the middle of this pit standing in what appeared to be a stand off, neither attacking; instead, they paced around each other, one more so than the other. The one that seemed unable to move, rather than Lana's first guess of just being lazy, was dressed in a suit of silver armor from head to toe, hiding any and every detail of the man within other than the fact that he stood seven to eight feet tall. The other one wore fare less armor, a simple faded blue-ish, white chest plate and light limb braces. The Frelian crest was nothing more than the faint remains of what it once was. His head was unprotected with his vibrant red hair in a low pony tail that swished with each dodge he made.

Lana gasped, staring at the nearly unarmored man. "Rin?"

Behind them an ogre of a man yelled at the two ladies, "move it, ya morons!" An audible crack rung as Lia gripped the bars in front of her tightly, trying to keep from blooding the stands and everyone in it.

Lana turned around to see a smaller man garbed in white robes trying to usher the man into his seat with as little violence as possible. _'I know that man…'_ she thought as the man turned his face from her view to meet the man's gaze.

"I won't calm down until they move! They're blocking my damn view! And I paid solid gold for this match!" At that, the last of Lia's patiencegave way. Her hands moved as blurs when she spun to face the behemoth a single pick flew from her grasp at his neck. At the last second, the robed man shot his hand out to intercept the projectile. It sunk deep between his bones and stayed. The original target paled at the sight. "Get me out of here!" he screamed before making a mad dash through the exit.

Lia walked up to the white-robed man. "You should have let me kill him," she growled.

"We don't want to distract everyone from the true fight, now do we?" replied Dindel as he pulled the pick from his palm. "You really need to learn how to be friendlier, you know." Lia mumbled something under her breath.

Lana walked up to Dindel with a confused look in her eyes, "Why are you here? I thought people of the clergy hated violence."

"Oh how I wish I wasn't here, but Rin is fighting." He pointed at the man that appeared to be dancing around his opponent.

Lana watched as the two fought. The red head had just finished drawing his sword and was now dancing in a more flowing version of ballroom dancing, all the while making swift stabs and slashes at joints and breaks in the armor. "Yep, that's Rin…" she sighed.

Lia grinned to herself, _'Idiot ain't half bad; people make more mistakes when they get angry. And by the looks of It, that man is borderline furious,'_ she thought to herself. She then made a sharp turn and headed off on an almost random impulse.

"Where're you going?" Lana asked with a hint of tease in her voice.

"Betting box."

Lana rolled her eyes and looked at Dindel, "So, how's he doing so far?"

"It's been completely one sided, I believe. Kinda sad though," he replied with a sigh

"In Rin's favor, right?"

"Of course, though no damage has been done."

"Odds are 4 to 1 against Rin…" Lia said between the two, startling them.

"Who'd you bet on?" Lana asked. Dindel sat back down in the front row muttering about sins or something. Instead of answering, Lia handed the little slips to her; there were 4 tickets, each for Rin winning. But what really shocked Lana was the number of zeros on each ticket, "Where'd you get this much money?"

"Pocket," she said in a monotone, completely focused on the match now.

"So why didn't you pay to enter?"

"I didn't _feel_ like it." Her glare threatened Lana's control of her waste systems, forcing her to drop her gaze and take a seat beside Dindel.

"Hey, you should feel lucky," Dindel said, trying to raise the girl sitting beside him in spirit.

"Why? Because she didn't kill me?"

"Because she answered."

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Rin fell back into a comforting stance with his unarmed left hand in front and sword touching the ground barely at the tip. His opponent snarled at the antics being used against him, waiting to unleash a world of pain unto the once-dancing man.

The general raised his weapon above his head and let out a mighty battle cry, stomping forward slowly in his silver, full body armor.

Rin's face cracked into a Cheshire grin. His eyes watered from his repressed laughter, making dodging almost worth paying attention to. When the sword struck the spot Rin had stood nearly 3 seconds ago, Rin fell back laughing at the top of his lungs, "If that's as fast as you go, then I'll have no problem." He dashed forward with his sword and made a swift jab at the man's crouch, taking a step to the side as an attempt to guard was made. When Rin's sword was just about to strike, he twisted around and made four parallel slashes at the waist chest and neck joints, then flipped out of reach of the giant blade.

The general stood completely still, then, brushed himself off in a mocking gesture, turning to face Rin with a gruff laugh. "Pathetic. You can't harm me."

"And you can't hit me."

"So it's a stalemate?"

"You could take that armor off and show the crowd your _manly_ figure," Rin joked.

The general laughed a little, "I like you. So, you best give up before you make a fatal mistake."

Rin resumed his earlier explosion of laughter. "Me? Make a mistake? You're silly," he said sarcastically.

"Seriously, I don't want a man such as you to be injured. It would be a waste of good humor."

"Oh, stop it," Rin waved his hand in a showing motion with a feminine giggle.

The man laughed again, "Alright then, how about a deal? First to draw blood wins."

Rin stepped forward slightly and widened his grin to the brink of splitting his face. "You got at deal!"

"Good. Now shall we continue?" the general grabbed the sword with both hands and held it slightly behind him. Rin shifted back into his basic stance.

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"I can't hear anything they're saying," whined Lana

"Neither can I," Dindel said.

Both turned to the silent one of the three. Lia stood there listening for a few more seconds before breaking the pause of silence. "They've made a deal. First to draw blood wins."

Lana looked down at her idiot of a companion's grin. "That can't be all they said…"

Lia glared at her with a sideways glance. "All that actually matters."

"Well at least no one will get hurt that bad," Dindel said with a sigh of relief. Lana sighed and a single thought went through her mind, _'Typical of him…'_

Lana took a pause from watching the two combatants to search for the princess among the high class seats, spotting her by the light silver battle armor she wore. The princess looked down at the arena with a confused and worried look, opposed to the excitement and entertained looks the royal guards and nobles showed. _'Princess…Do you recognize Rin?'_

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Rin ducked a wide horizontal slash swung at his head, only to roll to the side from a vertical swing that followed, striking the leg and arm joints in the armor looking for an opening. The man ignored these swipes and swung horizontally again, at Rin's waist, which Rin blocked with his own sword, sending the blade skidding off his weapon and over his head. This back and forth fighting had been going on for several minutes and no one had yet landed a damaging blow. Rin was irritated to say the least.

'_There's got to be a weak point or something! But where?'_ Rin asked as he continued to dodge in 'autopilot' mode, all the while scanning for any fault in the seemingly living suit of armor. Every spot seemed to be covered; the joints had strong chain mail underneath that stopped the blade inches from the skin, and the rest was covered with armored plating that just caused the sword to rebound off; the only spot that flesh could nearly be seen was from the small slit for the eyes, though it stood to high for an effective attack from someone of Rin's stature. Rin gave the armor a few more checks, complete with testing stabs and slashes at anything that looked questionably weak, before a stroke of genius came to him out of the blue.

Rin made one last roll as the blade struck the ground. Reaching into his armor, he pulled out three pictures that'd required a crap load of gold to get from some crazy foreigner, but in the end, it would be paying for itself a thousand times over. Rin quickly jumped on top of the arm that was now trying to dislodge the sword from where it stuck in the ground, using the grooves to haul himself up to the helmet.

General Yuganz watched in horror as the man climbed his arm, unable to stop him with his hands locked by his gauntlets to his sword. He squinted his eyes in preparation for the stab through his visor, but after a few seconds, he decided to investigate why he had not already lost the match, and was met with the sight of an angel. The angel was a beautiful blue haired woman, dressed only in a towel that was starting to fall from its position below her shoulders; she faced out to the world with a shy looking smile. Then, the image was hastily thrown over Rin's shoulder as he used the next one. The same girl now faced away with the towel fallen to her knees, revealing the soft skin hidden throughout normal days. Again, this was thrown and the third was placed for the general's sight. This one featured the exact same woman from the front, waist high, no towel, only her arms blocked all but the smallest portion of her cleavage.

Rin watched in amusement as his foe shuddered and fell backwards onto the ground, a small trickle of blood ran from his nose to the side of his helmet. Rin's grin widened from ear to ear. He knelt down beside Yuganz's head. "Not to much for you, I hope."

The general laughed a bit. "You're a sly one, I'll give you that." He sat up and turned his head to face Rin. "I suppose you're lucky I don't really care if I win this thing, or I may have broken my word."

"Why don't you care?" Rin raised his eyebrows slightly in curiosity.

"Because it wasn't my idea to take part in this." He looked up into the crowd at the high class seats. "The princess wanted me to." With that said, the general stood up and began walking for the exit of the battle arena. Rin stood up to face the man he now respected. Before he left, Yuganz turned halfway around and looked at Rin. "Good luck with the rest of the tournament." He then walked out the exit.

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Lana, Dindel, and Lia watched as the general walked out of the arena. "Did he give up?" asked Lana simply.

Dindel examined him closely for a moment. "No, look at his helmet." Lana stared closely at him. Then, Lana noticed it and twitched slightly at the sight as Dindel continued, "…Blood…"

"Then, Rin won, right?"

"Seems so," replied Dindel somewhat happy there hadn't been more bloodshed yet.

An announcer's voice suddenly boomed from below, startling the three of them. "It seems Lord Yuganz has given up! What reason could be behind this! It seems like only the two combatants know." He paused for a moment waiting for confirmation to continue. During this time, Lana saw that Rin had begun to walk off the battle stage toward the exit. Finally, the announcer went on. "Lord Yuganz has indeed surrendered. I have also been given confirmation to begin the next match, immediately! It will now be our fourth ranked competitor, Shintam, vs. the still unranked but victorious Rin!"

The mouths of the three onlookers widened considerably at this statement. The crowd had begun to cheer again in anticipation. Then, a yell rang out across the entire arena from the center silencing all else. "WHAT?"

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(Now then, I have seen other writers do this so I decided to do one as well:

RANTAMONY: "You, The Reader"

Alright…I know that if you've read this far into the story, you at least somewhat like it. And yet, as of now, I have received exactly **_0_** reviews. So, why would that happen to be? If I can find time to write all this, I'm sure you can take the time to click a simple little button, type in a sentence or so, and click another button! So, REVIEW DAMN IT! For I will not update again until I have at least received a review. And for future reference, reviews make my mind work faster on the story, resulting in quicker updates. So, if you want me to update faster, review and tell me! And another thing, since I haven't received any reviews, I refuse to apologize for waiting so long to update again.

Anyway…wait until the next installment and feel free to answer my trivia question, preferably in a PM, and have a chance of getting a character into the story later on. **SSF**)


	5. The Reason Behind the Pontifex

(I shall go ahead and post another for my sole fan…who still hasn't reviewed…Just read before I go off on another tangent.

Disclaimer: I do not own the idea of Fire Emblem or Magvel or the Sacred Stones. (but he wishes he does **Blaze**) Of course I do! $.$ **SSF**)

**The Reason Behind the Pontifex**

Rin watched on in annoyance as his second foe came into the arena. He really didn't feel like fighting again already. The last fight had taken most of his small supply of patience away just trying to find a way to win, and besides that, he was still a bit drained from all the dodging he had done.

His new opponent walked in, muscles visible even through his thick shirt. He held an axe over his shoulder, the blade behind his head. The man walked forward looking around at the crowd with a huge smile on his face waving his arms to get the crowd pumped for his upcoming fight. The crowd indeed replied and cheered as loud as they had for Yuganz.

This new 'Shintam,' as the announcer had called him, certainly had a way with the crowd for the entire audience seemed to back him. Many of them called out incredibly rude things at Rin which only served to push him further into the pit of rage he was in. Rin glared at Shintam wanting to hurry up and start the match so he could end it quickly.

After quite a bit more flaunting toward the center of the stage, Shintam finally turned his attention to Rin. He stopped dead in his tracks staring at him. It took a while before his brain could comprehend who was in front of him. He looked over at the announcer, furious.

"I thought I'd be fighting Lord Yuganz! I expected competition, not some shrimp!" he screeched in a rather deep voice motioning toward Rin. This farther angered Rin. Shintam continued, "Get Lord Yuganz in here so I can fight him, now!" He began stomping over to the announcer, who was still somewhere invisible on the side of the arena floor.

After the first few steps, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around only to feel a fist hit his cheek, hard. Shintam fell to the ground, a small trickle of blood falling from the corner of his mouth. The crowd silenced in an instant. Shintam stood up quickly and turned to face Rin with fire in his eyes.

"What kind of sucker punch was that!?" he screamed at Rin.

"An attention grabber. So, now that you seem ready, we begin." He glanced over toward the announcer, who didn't waste any time starting the bout.

"Begin!"

The man immediately rushed Rin in a berserk assault. He swung the axe vertically at him giving a loud grunt. He swung through nothing but air, and his axe was planted into the dirt. Suddenly, he found a sword to his throat.

"You should really work on that. You should know it's not the size of the boat but the motion of the ocean that matters. I could kill you now and end this, but I don't feel like killing, so I'll just let you surrender." Shintam glared at him out of the corner of his eye. He swiped a punch at Rin to get him to back off. However, once again, Rin had only switched his position to be on the other side of him, still with his sword to Shintam's throat. "Is this all you've got?" Shintam gave him a leer of doom before attempting to pull up his axe.

With some effort, he got the axe out of the ground and went straight into a horizontal swing all around him. Rin merely ducked and thrust his sword through his right calf. Shintam winced and let his swing fall to the ground. Rin appeared behind him, and pushed him forward. Unable to use his pinned leg to keep himself standing, Shintam fell to the ground. Rin put the heel of his foot on Shintam's rear and pulled out his sword, then placed it to the man's back. "Give up yet?" asked Rin, showing as much patience as he could muster.

"Not until I'm in my grave," responded Shintam with complete seriousness in his voice. Rin waited, standing on the razor's edge between slicing the man's throat and just tearing through the man's main muscle tendons.

He lucked out as the announcer came back on. "That is enough. The judges have ruled that this match is completely one-sided and trying to avoid any deaths, have given the win to the unceded Rin."

Rin sighed with comfort as he let the man flail in the dirt. Rin didn't wait for Shintam to decide he still wanted to continue and walked out of the arena in quite a hurry.

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Lana watched Rin completely own his new opponent, praying that he wouldn't kill the man when the announcer proclaimed the results to the match according to the judges. Lana let out the breath she unconsciously had been holding at the announcement. She watched him leave the arena in a rather foul mood. _"The idiots shouldn't've made him fight two battles in a row. It only serves to make him mad,"_ she thought. She sighed exhaustedly.

"Is he always like that?" asked a male voice from beside her.

Lana turned to her priest companion. "Anytime he gets angry, yes." She looked back at where Rin had exited wishing she could talk to him.

"At least he held back from doing any real harm to him," added Dindel as a side note, watching as some women in white robes removed the axe wielder.

Lana turned toward him again and smiled. Then, she noticed the absence of the usual grunt at comments like this. She glanced around her. "Where's Lia?" She looked back at the priest who was pointing down the aisle. Lana leaned over the rail and looked down it to see Lia walking towards her grumbling. She stared at her angry form as it came closer. Lana glanced sideways at Dindel and whispered to him. "I'm guessing I shouldn't go asking any questions right now, should I?"

Dindel shook his head vigorously knowing that if he spoke, Lia would hear his response, which he didn't want to risk. Lia came back up to her seat mumbling to herself. "mumblemumblestupid betting boxmumble." Her two companions stared at her curiously, unsure whether to inquire what had happened or not. Lia looked up at them from her seat with extreme annoyance in her eyes. "They almost didn't pay." She stated simply.

Dindel put his palm on his forehead and shook his head. He returned his gaze to Lia. "You didn't kill anyone did you?"

Lia glared up at him. "He'll be having nightmares for the next few weeks, and I think his childbearing days are over," she growled, still incredibly irritated.

Dindel smiled when he heard this. "Glad to see my kindness is rubbing off on you some." This comment earned him a hard kick to the shin. "Ow!" He sat down and began rubbing his soon to be bruised shin. "Can't say I didn't see that coming, though…" he said gloomily.

Lana was now really confused. She still didn't understand Lia's half answers she always gave. "Now, what happened at the betting box?"

Dindel looked up at her and quit rubbing his shin. Then, he proceeded to explain what she had meant. "More than likely, the guy at the desk had been told not to pay up full for any bets on Rin since Lord Yuganz or whatever his name was had surrendered rather than truly being defeated. Because of this, Lia somehow threatened him to make him pay up full. Then, I assume she tried to place another bet on Rin, but by that time, Rin had already been judged as the winner so she couldn't place any bets. I'm not quite sure what she did about that but somehow, she would've gotten a little extra money out of it." He stopped and looked at Lia, who was nodding in agreement with everything he had said, holding up another ticket in her hand. "I see you won't have trouble with the last round."

He turned around to see what Lana's response to this only to find that she was gone. "Where-?" he began astonished and looked around. He saw her walking down the aisle a short distance from them. "Where are you going?"

Lana turned around to face him. "One: I'm getting out of here before security comes. Two: I'm going to talk to Rin." She turned back around and began to walk away.

Dindel stared after her, a bit stunned. Then, he turned and looked at Lia, who merely stared back. Finally, he sighed in defeat and the two of them followed her at a quick pace to catch up.

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A thin man clothed in green robes decorated with jewels of all kinds stood looking out a window. He had dark-brown eyes and light green hair with a gruff face but no facial hair. He looked out darkly onto the world outside. Silently, he turned around to view his room. It was mostly green with gold spots of jewels everywhere.

He looked around to make sure no one was in the room with him. After convincing himself he was indeed alone, he walked over to a small table and yanked a table cloth off of it and then pulled open a small hatch in the table. He stared down upon the swirling black and green colors of the only remaining Sacred Stone in existence. Being the pontifex of Rausten, he had ordered it brought to his quarters "so it could be kept safer from spies," he had said. That wasn't the real reason at all. In fact, he could feel immense power emanating from it, and he wanted to feed off of that energy.

He began reaching out to touch the stone and perhaps feel its strength flow through him. However, he heard armored footsteps coming down the hall and quickly covered the stone up again. Not long after, a young man, no older than 16, with similar light green hair and brown eyes entered along with a heavily armored knight in green. The young man rushed to the pontifex and grabbed his arm.

"Father, are you feeling better? Are you sure you should be up and about?"

The pontifex waved him off. "I am fine, boy. Don't bother me with such trivial questions." He turned toward the knight. "What news is there of the runaway bishop, Dindel?"

"Sir, we have word that he has escaped Renais. His new whereabouts are unknown." The pontifex stood in thought, so the guard continued. "However, our armies are now on the doorsteps to the royal castle of Renais. We await your orders to take it as well as the rest of Renaisian territory."

"Very well, Commander Jeiker, proceed quickly before other countries decide to interfere, namely Frelia. We cannot have the other superpower interrupting our plans."

Before the pontifex could continue, his son interrupted. "Father, I am opposed to this war. We have been at peace for 200 years since the War of the Stones with good relations on nearly all ends, especially Renais. Why should we end such a time so suddenly and so violently? We should enjoy the peace while we can!" The pontifex stared at his son. Then, he returned his attention to the soldier.

"Also, send our trackers after Dindel. We need him if our plans are to be successful. Hire mercenaries if you have to. You are dismissed." The knight saluted and left quickly before the two royals got into another one of their fairly common quarrels.

"So, Father, will you answer me?"

The pontifex glared at his peace-minded son. "I will show you the location of the Sacred Stone. You and I will be the only ones who know where it is located in this room. Then, perhaps you will understand, Nihan."

The son, slightly confused, followed along in hopes of understanding his father's reasoning behind the invasion. The pontifex did the same thing he had moments before his son had entered the room and revealed the stone once more. Nihan stared at it in complete amazement. He could feel its power radiating from it in waves. He could feel it drawing him closer. He began to wish to have its power for himself. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but he resisted. After another second, he felt the waves begin to send him messages as if through telepathy.

"_If…wish…my power…holiest human…me"_

Nihan couldn't decipher it, but somehow, he now understood why his father had chosen to invade Renais and why this Dindel was so important. He also understood why the soldiers and even priests and bishops seemed to have had more bloodlust than he had ever heard of.

"Now, go find your sister and travel to Sein. There is someone there I would like you to meet." The pontifex broke through Nihan's thoughts. "I believe you know where it is."

Nihan returned his attention to his father. "Yes, Father Gira, it is a port on the northeastern coast of Rausten." The pontifex looked at him curiously. It was strange to be called his real name, Gira. Soon, he merely dismissed the thought as useless and watched his son leave the room. He covered up the Sacred Stone and followed him out of the room.

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Lia, Lana, and Dindel walked up to the competitors' entrance. There were two guards standing in front of the entrance. Lana looked at Dindel. "Now, what do we do?"

Dindel shrugged. "I'm not the one that usually gets into things I'm not supposed to." He turned to look at Lia only to find that she wasn't there any more. He looked forward and saw her walking toward the entrance. He put his palm to his forehead and shook his head. "Should've seen that coming." He quickly jumped to following her with Lana in tow.

Lia reached the gate and was stopped by the two guards holding their lances in front of her. "This is a restricted area, only competitors are allowed," stated one of the guards simply. Lia growled at him and began to draw her sword. However, someone grabbed her arm to stop her. She spun around to see who it was.

It was Lana with a wide grin on her face. "I have a better way." Confused, Lia let go of her sword hilt. Lana turned back and headed for the normal crowd entrance. Lia looked at Dindel, who merely sighed. They decided it best to follow, leaving two somewhat shocked guards.

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Rin walked into the contestants' locker room. It was dirty, smelly, and full of sweaty clothes, some with blood on them, just like any other locker room. This just served to put Rin in even more of a bad mood. He looked around to catch a glimpse of another combatant leaving the room toward the arena for their bout, but Rin didn't care. He was too annoyed for such nonsense.

He sat down on a bench in the center of the room and tried to calm himself down. It took a few minutes, but eventually, he succeeded. He took out the porno pictures of Lana again and stared at them, not for a 'sensation' but in wonder. _"I wonder where she is now? I hope she's alright…Maybe they were sent to follow us by the old man…I'm kinda starting to miss her smacks after my jokes."_ He touched his cheek recalling how exactly that felt. _"Maybe not…"_

Then, he was hit in the head by a small bit of rubble. "Huh?" He looked up to see a crack on the ceiling. He stared at it a moment before shaking his head. "Darn place is falling apart," he whispered to himself. He looked back at the spot pondering when he would get to fight again.

Suddenly, the crack split farther across the ceiling accompanied by a loud cracking sound. Rin's attention refocused on the spot, and he noticed, at the center, a small hole was forming. Before he could think farther on it, the ceiling collapsed on top of him.

A second later, he found himself laying on his back with something heavy but soft on his stomach. He opened his eyes to see Lana sitting on him giving the victory sign in his face with a huge smile on her own. "Wha-?" was all Rin could get out. Lana glared at him menacingly. He knew what she wanted but really didn't want to play along. "Hello, Lana." He smiled a very false smile and got a smack for it.

Lana stood up off of Rin and began pacing around the room. "Can't you just _act_ enthusiastic about seeing me? I came all this way just to catch up with you, too!-" As she continued to ramble, Rin lost interest and quit listening even though he knew he would get smacked for it. He rolled onto his stomach and watched as Lia jumped down through the hole Lana had somehow created. Dindel soon followed, falling clumsily on his butt. Dindel began to push himself up when Rin felt himself being pulled upward by the collar of his armor. He reached his full height and felt the smack hit his cheek hard.

Rin quickly recovered from the slap and looked down at the slightly shorter than him Lana. He could tell she was extremely pissed off. They stared at each other for a while before Lana finally tore off. _"There goes the next few days of talking to her,"_ he thought somewhat sarcastically, although he had a sneaky suspicion it was probably going to be true.

He turned his attention to Lia and Dindel, who seemed perfectly normal; well, perfectly normal for _them_ anyway. "So how did you all get down here? I don't normally have people fall from the ceiling on top of me."

Dindel answered in a confused tone. "I'm not sure. Lana used something she called a 'power drill' to make a hole in the floor in one of the alleyways between seats." (Yes, FE now for my own amusement has a few new technologies I may randomly decide to use **SSF**) (Way to stick it to them SSF-chan! **Blaze**)

Rin turned to face Lana. She had her arms crossed with her back to the rest of the group. Rin chose the safer path and decided not to ask. However, he did turn around and ask Dindel a few more questions. "Didn't anyone see you?"

"I don't think so…It was in a small corridor hidden away from the rest of the stands. Lia scared away anyone who came near."

"No guards came by?"

"Nope. Apparently, they don't come by such secluded areas very often."

"Hm…When did the two of them get here?"

"Just as you started your first match. Congratulations on winning by the way and thanks for not harming anyone too badly."

"Hey, Rin, aren't these-?" Lia had interrupted them from near where they had drilled through the ceiling. She was holding three small, white, paper-like objects with an extremely wide grin on her face.

"_Shit!"_ was the only thing that could go through Rin's mind. He rushed over to her and tried to snatch them out of her hands. He missed terribly and with a little help from Lia's foot found himself lip locked with the floor of the locker room. He jumped back up and spun around to find the thief of the pictures that had won him the first bout. What he saw made his jaw hit the floor.

Lia was standing next to Dindel showing him the pictures. He immediately became blood-red, and his nose began to bleed. He quickly covered them up with his hand and turned away using his other hand to slow the bleeding. _"There goes his innocence."_ Rin thought blankly. He didn't really care. He was already rushing toward Lia to get his pictures back before Lana saw them and his date with death was bumped up by a few years. Yet, Lia was always one step ahead of him.

By now, Lana was watching in mild amusement even though she didn't know what Rin was after, and Dindel had regained himself enough to watch the two tangle. After a bit of this, Rin realized it wasn't working. He jumped back, in between the two women. Rin knew he couldn't catch Lia like that and thus, decided it was time for one of his good ol' dirty tricks.

Rin stopped his actions and acted like he had begun thinking. He put his finger on his chin and looked up at the ceiling. Lia glared at him curiously. After a few seconds, Rin dropped his hand to his side and began explaining.

"From what I'd heard from Dindel you two have been traveling together for a while; and after having seen your violent nature, I've been wondering…Which of you two is dominant in the relationship?"

Lia's face went a deep shade of red, and she squeezed her fists tight in anger, crushing the bottoms of the pictures she held. Rin silently grieved for their beauty but put getting them back as top priority.

Lia rushed forward and punched at his face with her right hand, which also held the pictures. Rin ducked out of the way and jabbed a muscle in the bottom of Lia's open arm. By doing that, Rin cause a sudden jerk of reactions in Lia's arm muscles that finally caused her to release the pictures. Then, Rin let her fall over him and grabbed the pictures in mid air. He stood there, satisfied by his accomplishments.

Lia had caught herself in midair and was about to rush angrily at Rin again when Dindel wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her back. "Come now, Lia, it wasn't that bad. Get a hold of yourself before you go ripping someone to shreds."

Rin looked over his shoulder and realized that had she really wanted to kill him she could have either broken free and done so, or would have done so on the first rush. He was glad she could at least held herself back from killing him for his jokes, but found it hard not to repeat the mistake when he saw the position of the two.

A voice at the arena entrance pulled him from his thoughts. "You're up again, Rin." A guard had appeared there. He looked mindlessly at the four people in the locker room. He blinked furiously, unsure he was really seeing all of them. They were still there, so he rubbed his eyes vigorously. He looked back to see absolutely no one there. "What the-?"

"You alright, soldier?" The guard turned around to see Rin walking toward the arena with his back to him. The soldier didn't answer but spun back to the empty locker room. He mumbled something under his breath before walking into the smelly room.

Rin looked out at the arena with gleaming eyes. _"It's time to win this thing!"_ He stood there in the shaded entryway waiting for his name to be read.

The announcer boomed as loud as ever. "We finally have our finale! It's time to see who deserves to win this tournament and earn the prestigious prize! In the final bout, it will be our surprise of the competition, Rin vs. the second ranked combatant and local favorite, with some of the best scores on the prelims, Urahara Yoruichi!"

"Finally, I can get this over with," grumbled Rin slightly. "…Wait…YUE!?"


	6. Fighting Finale

((Disclaimer: Bah, I don't feel like doing this right now…Rin! Rin:appears, rubbing his eyes What? Can't you tell I was asleep? Me: Do the disclaimer for me Rin: You sure you want me to? Me: Yes Rin: Neither SSF nor Blaze own Fire Emblem, just like neither of them own any genitals. Me: Hey! Rin: You asked for it. **SSF**))

**Fighting Finale**

Rin ducked under the blade of a horizontal slash and quickly countered with an upward cut that was sidestepped. He blocked another horizontal slash over his head and went for a jab. His female opponent sidestepped again and used her own jab. He parried it outward before slicing at his opponent's head. She knocked it over her head and cut down vertically. He blocked it and pushed the sword upwards and prepared to attempt another slash. To his dismay, his foe was already kneeling down in front of him, mere inches from his front knee. She immediately punched him in the crouch and jumped away.

Rin felt enormous bouts of pain rush throughout his entire body and his legs and hands reflexively closed around his 'materials'. He fell to his knees with a cringe on his face, groaning. "Are you _trying_ to make me sterile?!" As another wave of pain pulsed through him, he muttered quietly to himself "Oh please, don't make my future children retarded for this".

His opponent had to force back a laugh and cover her grin with her hand. "Now, why would I want to do that?" she asked in an all-to-joyous tone. She was answered by a slight glare. "Oh, come now. If I was trying to do that, don't you think you'd be more than just on your knees?"

Rin continued his slight glare, although she did have a point. She spoke again, this time in a sarcastic tone. "So, are you ready to give up and let me win?"

Rin looked at the ground in front of him with a curved lip. "You know that's not gonna happen until I'm forced to, Yue."

"Wouldn't have it any other way!" she replied cheerfully. Rin grimaced again from the fleeting pain, unable to move from his knee. Yue jumped at her chance and charged the man, her blade extended for the lethal lunge.

When she stepped in for the final blow Rin burst into action, knocking the sword to the side with his armored arm while bringing the hilt of his own sword crashing down into her chest. Rin smirked at the tiny tears in her eyes as he jumped back from a low slash, "There. Now, we're even."

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Lana sat in her chair with her elbows on her knees and her chin on the palms of her hands. She watched Rin and his opponent, Urahara Yoruichi as the announcer had called her, battle it out in the middle of the arena at a speed almost too fast for her to catch. They seemed incredibly evenly matched. Neither one of them could land a decent blow. It was actually beginning to get a little boring watching them parry and slash, parry and slash.

Then, the girl bent down and punched Rin in the crouch. Lana giggled as Rin fell to his knees clutching the hit area. She was really beginning to like this woman. It seemed they had a lot in common. She even knew Rin, or seemed to when he had come into the arena.

_Flashback_

Lana sat down in her seat as the announcer proclaimed the combatants in the upcoming bout. She looked out over the arena expecting to see Rin already walking out to the new challenge. However, she was only greeted by the sight of a woman in the center of the arena.

A little confused, Lana scanned the battlefield once more. This time she found Rin just entering and surprisingly, without his usual swagger of confidence. Still confused, she watched as he reached the middle of the arena and began talking to his opponent. It was a calm chat, and at the end, the two shook hands before the announcer began the final match to an incredibly loud cheer from the majority of the crowd.

Lana looked at Lia. "What was that about?"

Lia grunted slightly. "They wished each other luck." Lana knew she wouldn't get any more out of Lia, so she decided to let the topic drop. She watched as Lia took off for the gambling booth. She sighed and turned back to the arena to see the two combatants already at it.

_End Flashback_

Lana sighed again as Rin and his opponent went back to their fighting. She glanced at the priest next to her to see him scanning the crowd. "You looking for someone, Dindel?" she asked nonchalantly.

Dindel jumped slightly at the sound of his name. He looked back at the cause, which was still watching the fight blankly. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, 'are you looking for someone?'" She continued to watch the fight despite her conversation with the bishop.

Dindel laughed slightly. "It would help if I knew 'someone'."

Lana turned her head toward him and raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know many people outside of Renais and Rausten. Before, I didn't leave Rausten very often thanks to my job as a bishop. I was just scanning the crowd in case I did so happen to get lucky and see someone I knew."

Lana raised her other eyebrow to match her other one. "What for?"

Dindel lowered his eyes to gaze on the ground in front of him. "I dunno. I suppose I want to see a friendly face. Since meeting Lia, I haven't exactly made a whole lot of friends."

Lana gave a look of being slightly offended, even though she really wasn't. "And you don't consider me 'n Rin to be friends?" she asked with the most false hurt she could muster. She continued in a more supportive tone. "And what about the village elder back in Renais? What was his name? Chiro? And his son...Scuro?" She ended in a very saddened tone but Dindel seemed to be too lost in his own thoughts to notice.

"Of course I consider you two friends. And I knew Chiro since before I had met Lia. I just mean that having a…er…assassin around isn't the best way to make new friends."

Lana shrugged. "Really? I thought it was," she said in a Rin-ish fashion, "It doesn't really bother me…or Rin apparently. Besides, I kinda like her. I'm going to laugh when she decapitates Rin…And I don't mean the head on his shoulders."

By now, Dindel was completely lost to what Lana was trying to say, so he merely turned and watched the match in the arena with his mind on other things. Seeing this Lana did the same. Soon, something came to the front of Lana's mind. With a curious look on her face, she turned to face Dindel again.

"Why are you on the run from Rausten, anyway?"

Sure, it was a simple enough question, but it still brought a shot of pain through Dindel's eyes. He slowly turned to face Lana with an unsure and sorrowful look in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He closed his mouth and glanced back at the arena showing grief all over his face. He slowly began to speak.

"I…I suppose I can trust you with the truth." He paused, still unsure whether he could trust those words. He chose to continue his explanation. "When I was young, my parents urged me to become a priest in the service of Rausten. I didn't like the idea, so I always told them that I wouldn't. It hurt them, yes, but they accepted my choice."

"When I was 15 years old, some sellswords came into our house and slaughtered my parents. I still don't understand the reasoning behind this attack but I'm sure I will someday. I ended up escaping through a back entrance to our home and running into the nearby woods. It was there that I made the decision to become a priest in remembrance of my parents."

"I went to the capitol, where they allowed me to become a priest. I went where my duties took me, all throughout Rausten until eventually, one of the head priests that served directly under the pontifex saw fit to raise my rank to that of a bishop. This meant that I was to receive orders directly from the pontifex."

"During a three year period at this position, the pontifex, for some reason, grew to see a great need for me and thus, promoted me again, this time to be one of the four royal bishops. I held that position less than a month, for I saw what no man should ever have to see..." Dindel stopped his long explanation as he began to choke up. Feeling sympathy for him, Lana patted him on the back and held his shoulder in efforts to comfort him.

Soon, Lia walked up to the two of them to see the scene. Dindel noticed her as she continued to walk giving them a very confused look. He quickly composed himself before saying, "It's nothing, Lia." Lia just shrugged and sat down in her seat. Dindel glanced at Lana, which she took to mean, 'She still doesn't know. We'll continue this later.' With that, the three of them turned to watch the fight in front of them with mixed thoughts going through their minds.

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A man about the age of 30 sat against a tree on the edge of a clearing with about two dozen other people. _"Damn…How many mercenaries do they need to find this guy?"_ thought the man incredibly annoyed. He had short, black hair that you could see his scalp through, dark green eyes, rather tanned and somewhat wrinkled skin, oddly large ears, but his most striking feature was the V-shaped scar around his left eye. He wore black sweatpants, subtle brown flip-flops, and a dark-blue short-sleeve shirt making him seem a bit hot with the temperature nearing 90 degrees, though he really wasn't.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree. _"How long is it gonna be before they give us the job already? I want to get started at beating these losers to it."_

"Heh, looks like I'll have some serious competition for this job," came the deep voice of a man standing next to him. He opened one eye to look at his rival and best friend.

"I guess so, Zanaku."

Zanaku had long, black, flowing hair down to the middle of his back; sky blue eyes; and soft, white skin making him seem younger than he really was, though he was nearly the same age as his partner lying against the tree. He had on a forest green, long-sleeve shirt as well as forest green pants coming down to his green shoes. It was obvious he loved camouflage.

"Indeed, Henati." Zanaku sat down next to his friend. "So, are you so desperate that you had to come all the way to Rausten to find a good job?" he asked, slightly jeering at him.

"You know very well that I travel where I see fit, Zanaku. I make due with what nature gives me."

"I'll make sure to-" He was interrupted by a man stepping up in front of the group to announce their job.

"Greetings, gentlemen. I come from the pontifex of Rausten to hire you to hunt down a man for this country. His name is Dindel Gerounde and his last known location was in the center of Renais, near a small village.-" Henati had quit listening at this point since he had his two needed information points; the name and last location.

His mind began to wander as he got bored. _"I wonder how long it will take to bring him in? I believe they asked for him to be brought back alive on the flyer. Ah well, time to get to work."_ He stood up and walked into the woods behind him before the man could even finish his announcement and began jumping through the trees toward Renais.

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Rin swung his sword horizontally, only to meet Yue's sword again. He withdrew it to spin around and swing at her diagonally, but again met her steel. Then, Yue, not waiting for another strike, pushed her sword forward in effort to jab Rin. Rin did a matrix style duck to dodge then continued through to a back hand-spring out of reach.

Rin put the tip of his sword in the ground in front of him and leaned on it slightly, breathing somewhat heavily. He looked across at Yue who copied his actions, breathing just as hard as he was. Rin let a small grin cross his lips.

"I'm surprised. I didn't expect you to be this good, Yue," he yelled across the amazingly loud arena to her.

Apparently, she had heard because she responded to it. "I told you, you didn't have to step in for me back at the stables. I coulda taken them without any trouble at all!"

Rin grunted slightly, though Yue couldn't hear it. "I suppose you're right. But then again, that's how I am when I'm forced to deal with two nuts that aren't my own."

They stood there a while looking each other over, trying to find some sort of plan or attack that would get through their defenses and dodges. Neither could find any. Slowly, Yue sighed and stared at Rin. "Are you ready to continue?" she asked, not wanting to show any signs of weakness.

"Whenever you are," he responded for the same reasons she had. They jumped back into their fighting stances. Rin got into his favorite stance, standing sideways with his left hand behind him and sword hand pointed down at the ground in front of him. Yue also got into one of her favorite stances with her sword vertically out in front of her, both hands grasping it.

They stood in those positions for a while staring each other down. Finally, the same thought shot through both their minds. _"Let's take this up to the real skill level."_

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The three watched the fight silently as the crowd all around them cheered for whoever they wanted to win which was mostly Yue. Lana sighed as Rin back flipped away from his opponent. _"Their fighting styles are too similar…This fight will never end," _she thought with a rather bored expression on her face.

She glanced around at her two companions. Dindel had his arms crossed over his chest as if opposed to the actions but unable to turn away. Lia had a look of total indifference on her face to an untrained eye, but to those close to her saw it was obvious that she was enjoying every minute of the fight. Lana sighed again and turned back to the battle. She was not enjoying sitting there, while Rin got to have the fun.

She watched the two of them get into combat stances; Rin into the one Lana recognized as his favorite. They stood there staring at each other for nearly five minutes. The crowd began to get antsy and started cussing the two out for not getting to the fighting.

Finally, the two moved. However, they moved in such a blur that very few audience members could follow them. Lana, herself, could barely keep up with them, seeing only slivers of the beginning and ending of the blows. She watched the orange and white afterimages of the two combatants make contact before rushing away and making another charge on their opponent.

Somewhat bewildered, Lana looked over at Dindel. He, too, looked astonished, though he seemed able to keep up with them to the dot. Lana saw his eyes bobbing and weaving as the objects rushed around the battlefield. Then, Lana turned to Lia, who still held the same look of indifference as before. Although her eyes remained motionless, the hint of a grin showed she was even better at following the movements of the combatants than Dindel.

Lana turned back to the fight in utter astonishment. She had never seen Rin move so fast. She looked down at her own trembling hands. _"I'm so weak...I can barely even follow them…No wonder Rin always insists he fight instead of me. I should just go crawl up in a corner and wilt away into the nothingness that I am…" _she thought as she pulled her knees up to somehow comfort her body. She looked on with tears forming in her eyes.

(God, I hate being emo like that…**SSF**)(Yeah emos! **Blaze**)

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Their metal swords clanged once more before they each jumped away, using the recoil to gain momentum. Rin ran toward the wall and kicked off it toward the center of the arena again. He saw Yue do the same thing and prepared to feel another blast of recoil. He swung at her legs expecting the steel of her blade to meet him. It indeed met him but not in the way he expected.

He hit the blade and felt absolutely no pressure going the opposite way. He continued with his swing all the way through, and he saw the sword fly sideways through the air away from him, which was strange because he had been swinging more down than any other direction. Then, he felt a tight grip wrap around his neck and right shoulder. He instantly knew it was Yue. He glanced down to see a hole in the ground.

"_She must've planted her sword there and used it as a pad to jump over me,"_ he thought as her grip tightened a bit.

Yue brought her mouth close to Rin's ear and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll be sure not to kill you." She then, tightened her grip even more so that it was increasingly hard for Rin to breath.

Rin growled in his mind. _"I'm not letting her beat me like this!"_ Rin held his sword up in front of him and twisted and spun it through the air until it landed with the blade traveling out on the opposite side of his thumb, downward and curving toward him. He twisted his arm around both his and Yue's back until the tip of the blade was at the base of her neck. She gasped slightly and loosened her grip enough for Rin to breathe again. He took a deep breath and held it, expecting her to retighten her grip to what it was before.

However, instead of tightening, she began to whisper into his ear again. "So then, a stalemate…If I tighten my grip you'll pierce the back of my neck and sever a nerve making me go limp just as you lose consciousness. It would be a tie." Rin was lost halfway through her explanation but made no move to correct her on his ignorance. She frowned slightly. "Not exactly the result I wanted…After all, this fight is the whole reason I got you into this tournament."

Rin raised his eyebrow at this. "What do you mean by that? I quite enjoy this situation; maybe we could try it again later if you'd please."

Yue smirked at this comment. "If I could move without ending the match right now, I would smack you." Rin flinched at the thought of being smacked for the third time in less then half an hour. "But to answer your question, you know that great prize I told you about?" Rin gave the best attempt he could of a nod. "Well, let's just say that I exaggerated it…a lot."

"You WHAT?!" Rin almost broke away from their strange engagement but realized that that would draw too much attention to the conversation to be a good thing. Yue giggled slightly. Rin glared at her even though he couldn't actually see her. "What's the REAL prize then?"

Yue looked questioningly at him. "What will you do when I tell you?"

Rin thought a moment. "That depends. If it is good enough, I would break away from this, let you get your sword, and continue the battle as we were before. If not, I'll just walk out of the stadium when you let go of me."

"Hmph…" Yue didn't like that response even though she knew it was coming, especially the first choice because she knew that he could outdo her in an extended battle. "Very well…The prize is your choice of three antique weapons; an axe, a sword, or a lance. They were all specifically built for previous lords of royal houses. Is that worth continuing over?"

Rin loosened his grip on the sword, shocking Yue slightly into loosing her grip and falling to the ground. "No _way_ that could be even near worth this effort."

With a mental _"shew"_, Yue let Rin go, knowing that the crowd wouldn't be happy with another surrender. Rin brought his sword back to being in front of him and sheathed it. He began to walk toward the gate he had entered by. As the crowd began to boo, Yue called after him, "You better not skip town! I want to talk to you again before you leave." With a backward wave, Rin acknowledged that he had heard. Yue smiled as she heard the announcer come on to declare her the winner.

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Lana watched Rin leaving the stadium in disbelief. She stared after him until she was brought back to reality by the announcer.

"It seems as though we have yet another forfeit and that Urahara Yoruichi is the winner of the tournament. Please wait for confirmation of this."

Lana turned to look at her two companions. The priest held an equally stunned look on his face and was still staring after his newfound friend. Lia however, looked anything but surprised. In fact, she held a look of satisfaction on her face.

Lana glared at her a second before asking her questions. "What's he think he's doing? And what are you so happy about?" The three sat there in silence, one waiting for an answer, one too stunned to respond, and the other just not wanting to respond at all.

After Rin was well out of sight, the announcer came back on. "It is indeed confirmed that our surprise of the tournament, Rin, has forfeited and allowed Urahara Yoruichi to win the tournament. Now, the princess of Frelia, herself, will now come down and award the victor her prize!"

Dindel finally snapped from his semi-conscious state. "Why'd he do that?" he asked mostly Lana, assuming she would know how his mind worked best.

Lana just shrugged. "That's pretty much what I just asked you…"

"Why don't we go ask him?" Lia had interrupted hoping to keep Lana's attention off of her previously satisfied look.

"Because by now, the hole I made will be swarming with security and construction trying to fix it up," said Lana giving her best impression of 'where's your common sense?' with a look that just screamed 'DUH'. She gave a slight "humph" and turned back to watch the finale of the tournament.

Her face brightened up when she saw the princess with three servants beside her giving the winner a choice of three different weapons. Urahara, as expected, chose the sword leaving the axe and lance to be taken back to the castle from whence they came. The princess then gave a congratulatory bow before turning back around and exiting the stadium surrounded by guards on all sides.

Dindel turned to face his two companions. "I suppose we should be doing the same before the crowd flattens us…Or worse, Lia flattens the crowd." The last part had been whispered into Lana's ear at very close proximity in hopes of avoiding Lia's ear. It brought a slight giggle to Lana's face, which was soon stopped by a scowl on Lia's. The three then proceeded to exit the stadium ahead of the oncoming crowd.


	7. A Big Man Falls

**A Big Man Falls**

Rin walked out of the now security crowded contestant locker room onto the streets. He was still annoyed that the prize he had thought was strong was nothing more than a pathetic artifact, but he had enjoyed his time in the tournament, especially the last fight against Yue. He thought back on the fight.

"_She was the best fight I've had in a long time. Maybe we'll fight again someday,"_ He began to walk away from the arena, reflecting, when he was interrupted by an obvious drunk in his path.

"You were pathetic out there! A monkey coulda done better than what you did!" He was wobbling side to side, barely maintaining balance. "And what makes you think you can just up and quit like that?! I should kill you here and now for wasting our time and money!-" Rin tuned out the rest trying to be patient enough for him to finish his drunken rant without any serious consequences in it. "-And another thing-!" With that, the man fell sideways to the dirt, unconscious.

Rin gave a slight laugh and looked at the small crowd that had gathered around the two of them. He gave a slight smirk and began walking forward. A path formed in front of him as he walked.

Suddenly, his walk was interrupted by a somewhat familiar voice from behind him. "So, why did you quit?"

Rin stopped and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Who wants to know?" he asked without turning around.

The man waited a second before responding. "Let's just say my nose hasn't quite recovered from our match." A wide grin spread across Rin's face as he turned around expecting to see a colossus of a man looking down at him. Instead, he was met by a tall, slender man with an expectant look on his face.

Rin's face went from a grin to confusion. "Lord Yuganz? Is that you?" The man nodded. "But you're so…thin." Rin examined him closely, walking around him as Yuganz spoke.

"Yes, well, as you can see, the bulk of my-well-bulk is my armor not my body. I was born into a noble family of Frelia and was thus expected to become a general in its army. I would personally have much preferred to be a falcoknight such as yourself."

"I see…And you didn't try to change it at all?"

"Indeed, I did, but it was futile, especially since I had the personal backing of the princess to become a general. But enough about me, _I_ want to know why you forfeited that last match. It seemed even to me."

Hoping he had evaded the subject, Rin stepped back when it was brought back up. "Eh…well…My opponent told me what the real prize was, and it wasn't up to my standards as rewards go." Yuganz raised an eyebrow questioningly. Rin decided to bring in some of his humor to lighten the mood a little. "It was heartbreaking to hear that I wouldn't be getting my hooker for a prize." Lord Yuganz 'sweat-dropped' in classic anime style.

"You mean to say you don't think that one of the personal weapons of the previous lords of Frelia isn't a suitable prize for such a competition? I dare say, they may be old, but they aren't broken! They work just as well as the day they were crafted!"

"Mmhm…Of course they are…It doesn't change the fact that I have no interest in relics."

Yuganz looked about to protest again when a loud yell came from behind him. "RIN!!!" Yuganz turned around to see the girl from the porno photos Rin had showed him during the match running towards them. Yuganz went death-pale and had to force his hand to his nose to prevent it from bleeding but still managed to step aside to let her pass.

She ran by in full hugging motion. Rin held out his arms tentatively, unsure whether she would really hug him or give him a hard slap to the cheek. She got within arms reach of him and as expected slapped him hard. However, she continued with the hugging motion and jumped on him, knocking him to the ground. Confused by this double show of emotion and even more so by the fact that the 'eternal grudge-holder' had forgotten what had happened in the locker room, Rin just patted her on the back, waiting for her to release him.

After a few moments, Rin noticed two pairs of feet appear in front of him. He looked up to see Dindel, smiling, and Lia with a disgusted look on her face. Rin grinned evilly at her with an idea in mind. He pulled Lana tighter and began to hug her back. He looked back up at Lia to see her utterly repulsed and looking away with her hand over her mouth like she was about to barf. Rin laughed mentally at this but kept himself quiet.

Lana then realized that he had pulled her closer. _"He would never do that in his normal state of mind…" _She quickly pulled away and eyed him threateningly. Rin pulled his hands in between them in a 'what did I do?' sort of way.

Lana intensified her glare at him. Then, she stood up and walked over to stand next to Lia with a small "hmph," while folding her arms over her chest. Dindel stepped forward and helped Rin to his feet. This was followed by a long, awkward silence, in which the crowd around them dispersed out of boredom with the scene. No one knew what to say.

After gaining control of his nose, Yuganz decided it was best to come to Rin's rescue. "So, Rin, are you going to introduce me?" he asked as he walked up next to Rin.

"Uh…Sure. Guys, this is Lord Yuganz." He motioned sideways to him. He was my first opponent in that tournament. Yuganz, these are my friends: Dindel-" Dindel gave a polite bow. "-Lia-" Lia gave no recognition to her name or the new man in front of her and just stood, silently staring at Rin. "-and Lana." Lana also, gave a polite bow before glaring at Rin. Yuganz grew pale at the mention of the beauty from the pictures and did his best to banish the thoughts of them that were bursting into his mind, failing miserably.

It grew silent once more. Dindel decided not to let it get too awkward and spoke; "So, you're a lord? You must hold a pretty powerful position, then."

"Yes, indeed. I was appointed to be the princess's personal bodyguard by the king himself." Pride hung deep in his voice. "She was the one who insisted I take part in this tournament."

"So, you know the princess!?" came Lana's voice with more than a hint of excitement.

"Yes…Why?" He looked at her curiously, trying to keep his mind on the here and now.

"Do you think you could introduce us to her?" she asked with hope slipping into her voice.

"Uh…I guess, but-" before he could finish, Lana let out a yelp of excitement and jumped up to glomp the tall figure. Their bodies met, but instead of stopping, Lana felt her body continue to travel forward and begin to angle downward.

She let out a small, "Yeak!" and clasped onto the body in front of her even tighter. She felt his body hit the ground beneath her. She rolled off of him and jumped to her feet. She glanced around to see what might've happened.

Dindel looked as shocked as Lana was, with one eyebrow raised above the other in a look of curiosity. Lia held her blank look as if she didn't care, although there was a slight upward curve on the edge of her mouth. Rin wasn't even trying to withhold his enjoyment with the sight. He was bent over holding his side, straight out laughing like a madman.

Lana returned her attention to the unconscious body of Yuganz beside her. She bent down and checked his wrist for his pulse. Finding the only abnormality to be it being a little faster than most people's, she stood up and kicked his legs in hope of waking him. When he didn't move, she turned back to her group.

"What just happened?..." she inquired, giving a particularly nasty glare to the slowly recovering Rin.

Lia let a small grin spread across her lips and she began to speak. "He fainted," she said bluntly as if it wasn't obvious to everyone.

"That's obvious. But why?"

Before anyone could respond, they all heard a yell coming from the arena entrance. "Hey, Lia!" The four of them turned and saw a figure running toward them. Within a few seconds, the figure came within 20 feet of them and stopped with her hand on the hilt of her sword.

With a second glance, Rin realized that it was Yue standing in front of him. "Wait, you-" He was interrupted by both Lia and Yue disappearing in a flash of speed, followed closely by a loud clang of metal and the two reappeared where the other had stood moments before, sheathing their swords.

Lana leered at them, annoyed. "Must you show off like that?"

Yue looked over at the new face. "We weren't showing off," she stated matter-of-factly. "It's how we greet one another."

Lana was about to retort when Rin stepped in to stop the argument before it got started. "You obviously know Lia, then." Lia walked back to the group and stood next to Yue with her arms crossed.

"Yeah. I gave her the info for most of her jobs when she was a mercenary," explained Yue. She then, turned toward Lia. "What happened anyway? I heard you took that job from Rausten and you never came back. I was starting to worry."

Lia turned her head and gazed blankly at her for a moment. Then, she turned it so she was staring at Dindel, who was standing politely next to Yuganz's form. Yue followed her gaze until her eyes landed on Dindel. She stared at him a moment, then back to Lia, and back again to Dindel. Her gaze steadied on him as her mind took off with the possibilities.

An odd silence fell on the group. Lana inched toward Rin, who was looking between the three with an impatient look on his face. When she was close enough, she whispered, "What was her name, again?

He glanced at her a moment before declaring, much louder than necessary in hopes of ending the terrible silence that had fallen on the group, "Her name is Yue. She's the one I fought in the finals." Lia and Dindel, both, quit staring at each other and glared at Rin. Lana turned to a bright shade of red in fury and embarrassment. She clenched her fists as Rin looked at her, confused.

A second later, Rin was face-first on the ground with a big welt in his cheek. Lana spun around to face the other three and whispered to herself, "Idiot…"

Suddenly, they heard giggling…and then, straight out laughter. The three faced toward the source of the noise; Yue. She quickly realized everyone was staring at her and pulled herself together. "Hehehe…Er…Sorry about that. Just a funny…image-considering who was in it."

Rin was up and by her side in an instant with his ear leaning toward her. "Do tell!" Yue hesitated a moment but seeing everyone's lack of a reaction to this outburst, thought it safe to lean in and whisper it into his ear. After a few seconds, Rin stepped back and stated to the whole group, "Yeah, I made a joke about that earlier."

Lana smacked herself in the forehead in realization of what they were talking about, Dindel had kneeled to Yuganz's side to take care of him in efforts to avoid conversation, and Lia stood with her arms crossed staring blankly at the two of them. Yue looked at Rin with confusion written all over her face. She leaned in once more and whispered something else in Rin's ear.

Before either of them could step back again, Rin had already begun his response to whatever she had said; "Oh no, not that I've seen. And with the way they act it won't happen for a few years. But that doesn't mean we can't make them think about it." A sly grin formed on his face.

But it was left hanging at that as the sound of trumpets exploded from the arena entrance. Everyone turned to see a small squadron of soldiers marching toward them with a royally decorated carriage, also surrounded by soldiers and pulled by two strong horses, not far behind.

The group, meaning Lana, Rin, and Dindel, watched in stunned adoration as they marched towards them. The soldiers broke into two lines as they neared them and split into a lane wide enough for the carriage to get through with a few yards to spare. Soon, the group was surrounded on three sides by either soldiers or carriage. The soldiers spun towards them and saluted robotically.

With a small creak, the side door of the carriage opened. A young woman, around the age of 20, stepped out. She had on thin, sky blue, plated armor on her torso with matching sky blue, leather pants flowing down to meet thin, plated greaves. Her hair was a flowing purple reaching down to her shoulder blades, tucked behind her ears to keeps it out of her face. Her forearms and face showed just how pale she was, making her seem fragile but stern all the same.

She walked towards the group at a brisk pace. As she approached, Lana, Dindel, And Yue bowed respectfully to her in recognition of the princess, while Rin gave her a small nod of acknowledgement, leaving Lia to just stare at her, or more so, through her. The royal nodded in acknowledgement of them all.

She spoke calmly and kindly. "Hello. It's good to see you all and good to finally meet the two of you."

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(Yeah, sorry for the lack of action in this chapter but I'm trying to get onto the main plotline while maintaining some mild side entertainment. The next chapter will probably be much the same, but don't worry. I have a BIG fight scene planned to happen soon. Until then, get used to storyline.

Also, as of now, I am accepting any cameos anyone wants to put in the story. Please note that they probably won't be added for a good 5 chapters or so and probably won't stay with the group permanently, I will be sure to put them in for at least a decent amount of screen time. Use basic cameo guidelines and put it in the Sacred Stones universe about 200 years after the War of the Stones. **SSF**)


	8. Slaughterhouse MGV

(Okay, forget the little 'competition' I've had. Anyone who feels like giving me a cameo, I'll try to work in somehow. Anyway, enough idle chit-chat.)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem, period. I also don't own Princess Enincia. She belongs to PremiumCopy from the Citadel of Shamayim. Feel free to go look for it. **SSF**)

"Enincia!" cried Lana as she jumped into a hug with the princess. Dindel raised an eyebrow at this rather informal gesture but made no comment on it.

"Yes, Lana, it's good to see you, too," stated Princess Enincia calmly while she patted Lana on the back. Lana pulled back from the hug with glee for the reunion written all over her face.

Rin stepped forward with his hand held out, ready to be shook. "Long time, no see, Princess."

Enincia shook his hand gladly. "It has been, Rin. I hope you'll be as great a help this time as you were last."

"Aye, I weel bee 's long 's I geet ma women an' ma booze!" he exclaimed sarcastically in a false pirate accent. Lana and Enincia rolled their eyes at him, knowing that that sense of humor was just how he was.

Enincia turned her attention to Yue. "Congratulations, again, on winning the tournament. Knowing how he thinks-," she motioned toward Rin, "-I'm sure it wasn't too hard to convince him it wasn't worth the trouble."

Yue smiled at her slyly. "Yeah, all I had to do was tell him the truth." She quit smiling and her tone turned serious as she continued, "Though, I must say, I'm surprised you would know such a…such a…"

"Vulgar man?" substituted Enincia for her, grinning in anticipation of the coming outburst.

"I beg your pardon, Princess. I am not vulgar. Merely… er…unique. Yeah, unique."

"In the crudest sense of the word," remarked Lana side handedly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Rin.

"Oh, nothing. Continue, Yue."

"Yes…Well," began Yue, recalling where she left off. "It's just a surprise to see royalty, such as yourself, acknowledging someone with his sense of humor, especially with how your father is about such people." Rin made a "hmph" motion behind everyone but made no sound, wanting to see how the princess would reply to this.

"I know my father agrees with you. He tells me so any time I even mention Rin. But, in dire circumstance, we both know Rin can be quite helpful. He has proven himself so multiple times and that is one thing my father can't argue with." She looked at Rin to see him grinning broadly with his chest puffed out in false pride at actually receiving a compliment.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" burst out Lana, attempting to get back to an agreeable subject. She walked over beside Dindel and Lia. "Princess, this is Dindel and Lia. Guys, this is Enincia, Princess of Frelia."

Dindel gave a curt bow. "It's an honor to meet you, your highness." Lia merely stood there, looking even more deadly than usual, if that was even possible.

Enincia gave a small curtsy to Dindel. "And I, you. But, please, call me Enincia. Formal is nice, but it's always good to get away." She glanced at her main source of informality, AKA Rin. Then, she turned back to Dindel and Lia. "Besides, I've heard a lot about the two of you. Dindel, the supposed runaway bishop of Rausten. And Lia, the assassin bodyguard. It seems the two of you lead exciting lives."

"Yes, well, we make do with what we can," replied Dindel politely.

"I'm sure you do, with all of Rausten on your heels. They claim that you 'stole church secrets' and are 'spreading them throughout Magvel.'" Enincia paused to see how Dindel would react to this.

It came as a surprise to her when he replied, "I suppose the first part could be considered true." Enincia raised an eyebrow, intrigues. "I do have highly classified information about the Raustenian government, but that was nearly three years ago. Surely, they must've changed most of what I know. Besides, I haven't even told anyone anything about it. Not even Lia."

There was a short silence. then, Enincia spoke again. "Well, Rausten also wants us to turn you over to them if we 'capture' you." There was another short silence, in which Rin took the chance to mimic a cricket chirp randomly. Lia began to unsheathe her sword to slay the soldiers and escape, but it proved unnecessary as Enincia continued. "However, I see no reason for us to 'capture' you. You have done nothing wrong here, and you're traveling with old friends of mine, making it even less likely that we would need to capture you. Besides, we have spies in Rausten, as I'm sure they have spies among these soldiers, that tell us that they're up to something, and you're a key part of it."

"Wait. What do you mean, he's 'a key part of it'?" asked Lana, genuinely concerned for her new friend.

"I can't say much here. We'll talk more on the matter later." She pulled Lana in so that her ear was inches from her mouth and whispered, "When you reach the castle." Lana's eyes brightened at the thought of being in the overly decorated castle again.

Enincia then turned her attention to Lia, who was still glaring daggers at her. "And as for you, I've heard a lot about you from Yue." Lia flinched at learning that her coworker had any relations at all with a political official. Enincia didn't seem to notice and continued, "I graciously thank you for doing the jobs we have given to you through her." Lia stared at her blankly, completely stunned by what she had just heard. Then, complete and absolute rage took her by storm.

The same though flashed through Dindel and Yue's minds. _"Oh, shit!"_ (That's right, Dindel just thought a curse **SSF**) (bout time. **Blaze**) (Oh, he's a priest, so shut up! **SSF**)

In an instant, Lia had drawn her sword and was rushing at Enincia as a blur, only to have a quick burst of light intercept her and fling her into the nearby wall of soldiers, knocking many of them down. Yet, it took less than a second for her to be racing at Enincia again. She got within a few feet of her and swung with the full force of her rage behind it, only to be greeted by the sound of metal on metal.

"No, Lia!" Yue had jumped between them before she could do any harm. Their swords were at a stand-still in between the two of them. The force Yue was using to hold back Lia's rage-filled slash was showing clearly on her flushed face. "You can't do this, Lia! Not even you can fight all of Frelia!"

Sense slowly returned to Lia's blazing eyes as she lessened the force she put into her sword. Soon, her anger was effectively suppressed behind her eyes as both she and Yue sheathed their blades. She gave Enincia one last hateful glare before turning and walking toward the wall of soldiers. As she approached, the men parted as the Red Sea had for Moses, fearful for their lives.

There was an awkward silence in the group as the wall rebuilt itself in the two locations it had been dismantled. Finally, Rin broke the silence in his usual sarcastic mode by applauding and cheering like a fool.

The Princess blinked uncertainly. "What did I do?"

Yue sighed tiredly. "I'm sorry, Princess. I should have told you earlier…" She paused and glanced at the still confused Enincia. "She's got a sort of grudge against politicians. Why? I don't know. And I never exactly told her that the jobs I was giving her came from the Frelian government. So, finding out that she worked for politicians wasn't the best thing in the world…."

There was another awkward silence. Then, Lana spoke out worriedly, "Shouldn't we follow her?...I mean, to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone."

Yue slowly answered, still unsure herself if it was the right choice. "No…She'd hear us if we did, and that would turn out even worse. Hopefully, she'll keep her sense enough not to do anything too drastic."

A third awkward silence ensued, this time for an extended period. "Oh!" The whole group jumped at Enincia's sudden outburst. "I almost forgot!" She spun to face the carriage she had come in. "Gerald! You can bring it out now!"

After a short while, an obviously male voice responded, "Both, Your Highness?"

"No. Just the lance, Gerald."

There was a shuffling inside the carriage before a short, thin man stepped out carrying a box approximately the length of his arm. He walked quietly over to stand in front of Enincia with his gray comb-over blowing up in the wind to show his bald scalp and obvious old age. He held the box out to her with his wrinkled hands as he spoke, "The lance, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Gerald. You may return now." The man shot a curious glance at the new faces as he did as told.

Lana hated to be rude, but she was too curious and couldn't help herself. "Who was he?"

Enincia raised an eyebrow. "Hadn't you ever seen him before?" Lana shook her head. "He's Gerald, an old servant of the family. We keep telling him he's free, but he won't leave, so we just treat him as we always did since that seems to be what he wants. Father asked him to come with me to the tournament for some reason." She sighed, thinking about how overprotective her father tended to be, especially since the last incident. It was a miracle he even let her go to such a 'gruesome display' as he had put it.

She continued with a more cheery tone, "anyway, Rin-" She spun to face him with the box in hand. "-You left before I could give you your second place prize."

Yue raised an eyebrow curiously but had a smile on her face all the same. "Second place prize? Since when, Your Highness?"

An annoyed vein appeared on Enincia's forehead in classic anime style. "Since I became the one giving out the prizes." Yue laughed slightly at the response. Enincia stuck her tongue out at her in a childish fashion, annoyed at the woman beside her.

Enincia turned back to Rin and continued, keeping her composure as best she could. "At any rate, here is the prize." She walked over and handed him the box.

Rin blinked at her confusedly but accepted it. He looked from an anxious looking Enincia to the box and back again. "So, am I suppose to open it now?" Enincia nodded sullenly, while looking at the box nervously.

He slowly lifted the lid to reveal three parts to a lance. He blinked blankly. Enincia began to grow impatient. "Don't just stand there and stare at it! Take it out and put it together!" she demanded agitatedly.

"But it's so _shiny_," he said sarcastically, taking notice of how old it looked. Enincia's eye twitched angrily as he finally did as told. He then held it in front of him for all to observe.

It was a dull blue with patches of wood showing through in a multitude of places. It was about Rin's height in length and matched his armor almost perfectly. The most prominent feature had to be the one foot blade that replaced the tip of the lance.

Rin looked it over amusedly. "Huh…"

"What?" asked Enincia, concerned he wouldn't like the gift.

"Well, it's rather….old…"

"Yes. It's called the Yari. It belonged to my great-grandfather. Since his death, it's been sitting in storage because no one else know how to use it."

"And you think I can?"

"I'm sure you can figure it out."

"But-but-it's old!"

"You'd be surprised how well it was built. I think it'll play to your style since you use swords as well as lances."

"But-"

Lana stepped forward and interrupted him, "He'll take it gratefully. You know he's just being stubborn for the sake of it."

"But-" Lana punched him in the arm forcefully. "Ow! Oh, Fine." Then, Rin spoke, sounding truly thankful for once. "Thanks, Enincia."

"You're welcome."

At that point, Gerald opened the door to the carriage and stuck half his body out and hollered at Enincia, "Your Highness! We really should be going! We are expected back at the castle within the week, so we can't stay here overnight!"

Enincia rolled her eyes at him and mumbled just loud enough for Lana and Rin to hear, "He should go ahead. I could ride my pegasus and be there within three days, easy." Lana giggled at the over protectiveness of the old servant that he could only have gotten from the King. Enincia proceeded to call back, "I'll be there in a minute." Gerald frowned but still got back in the carriage.

Enincia turned back to the group of four before her. "I guess I should be going. You know how my father is…Come to the castle as soon as you get the chance." Lana and Rin nodded agreeably. Enincia then looked at Dindel. "I'm sure my father would like to speak to you, so hurry there if you can." Dindel nodded with a distant, worried look on his face. Enincia thought little of it as she went on to Yue. "And you should receive your next job within the week." Yue bowed politely.

Enincia looked around, realizing she was forgetting someone. _"Lia left…"_ she thought, _"Who else is there?"_

"Oh!" she gasped as she realized who it was. "What happened to Yuganz? He said he was coming out here to talk to you before you left." This brought a laugh out of Lana and Rin as they stepped aside for her to view his still unconscious form.

Enincia's mouth dropped as she stared at what she had only known as a beacon of strength that now lay before her in a heap. She then glanced about her confusedly but without any trace of concern, having noticed that they would have been treating him had it been too serious. "What happened to him?"

"I'm not sure…" replied Lana as she turned to glare at Rin.

Rin did his best to look innocent as he responded, "What're you looking at me for?"

Enincia cut in before they could start arguing again. "Well, this way could be better." Lana and Rin gave her curious stares. "This way, he won't be able to argue with my orders. Tell him that he is to escort the four of you, including Lia, to the capital." Lana gave her an appreciative nod. "Now, I really must be going before I get scolded by Gerald…again." There was annoyance in her voice as she finished that made Lana giggle at how she could be scolded by her servant.

Enincia bowed to the group, who bowed back, before turning on her heels and walking back to the carriage. As she got in, Rin yelled, "Oh, Enincia! Did you want the box back?" He held the said box above his head for her to see.

Enincia stuck her head back out and replied, "No. Carry the Yari in it. It'll make things easier."

Rin shrugged, which Enincia took to mean 'alright.' She gave one last wave goodbye before getting in. The army guarding the Princess took off past the group along with the carriage.

As soon as they were out of sight, Rin asked in a suggestive fashion, "Hey, Lana…You wanna play with my shaft?" SMACK! "Ow!"

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(A/N: now for a change of authors; SSF has allowed me full reign from this till the end of the chapter. Be warned due to graphic nature of the following, reader discretion is advised. **Blaze**) (Meaning: this should probably be put in an M rated fic, but I'm not changing the whole thing for one scene. **SSF**)

Vodka, now!" Lia hissed at the elderly bartender as she took a seat at the counter.

"Ma'm, I don't thi-" began the bartender.

The loud clang of metal broke the entirety of conversation in the room in an instant. Every eye was on the strange woman with the hand full of gold coins at the counter. "Now," she repeated, sternly this time. The effect it had on the old man was amplified by the silence of the room.

"Y-yes, right away." He darted from behind the counter and entered a back room.

The men in the bar now walked down a line between their two greatest instincts: to raid the abandoned stocks of rum, ale, and cheap whiskey, or address the new comer as had become the custom for women that entered their bar. A tall man stood from his seat at a booth and headed to the bar through the small groups of men that had already begun standing up. The man hesitated a step behind Lia and dipped his fingers into his drink and slicked back his muddy brown hair. "Hey, baaaaby…" he said as he sat down, "You know you's supposed to orda somefin warm and creamy." His arm managed to reach around Lia's waste and started to fiddle with a few articles of clothing.

"Get off." The assassin's voice cut through the numerous conversations that had started up in the room again, despite the fact that she had barely spoken louder than a whisper.

The man ignored her words and burrowed deeper still in the folds of cloth around her waste in hopes of un-sewn flesh. He pulled back when an unusual sensation crept through him, almost as if a breeze had crept up his forearm near his raidius (Note: That's the bone in your forearm **SSF**). The situation explained itself when his arm was fully withdrawn from the recesses of Lia's attire. It was then that he realized there was a gaping hole, sliced cleanly through both bones, where his wrist and arm should have been as wave after wave of crimson blood poured onto the floor.

The man gazed at the horrific sight that no one else seemed to notice. Yet, he seemed to have lost his voice to alarm the others. One of his muscles jerked and twitched in attempt to adjust the missing hand, and his voice came back with a vengeance. "AGGGGGHHHH!" He threw himself backwards through several groups of men and tables until he hit the wall of one of the booths, where he fell deathly silent. The man's eyes widened with terrified realization at an all too familiar sensation. Looking down at his lap, he saw the lower half of his jaw sitting there with a certain surreal essence about it. A tickling feeling brought the fact that his tongue was now lying adjacent to his neck and chest into reality. He tried to release another earsplitting scream but found he could only emit a spluttering sound that resembled that of a dieing whale. With one last gasping breath, his body fell limp.

All eyes were locked on either the dead body or the woman with the bloody knife. Whichever they chose, their anger flared, especially those who had been sitting with the jawless wonder. They stationed themselves in a half-circle around Lia.

"You bitch…" muttered one of the men, most likely one of the dead man's friends. A collected murmur of agreement came from the small groups of men quickly pooling to form one large mass, the creations of a mob.

One of the men grabbed a beer bottle and advanced on the short woman. "Back. Off." Lia hissed, sending the first two rows of men stumbling back. However, the 'armed' one continued his advance on her. Lia glared at him until he was nearly upon her. She didn't hesitate for a moment as she had for the first. Instead, she jumped up from her seat and drew her steel blade in a flash, leaving the man's midsection suspended for a brief period, while his upper and lower halves were thrown back a few inches from where his intestines were destined to land.

But Lia didn't stop there. That had been the last straw on her back before it broke. Now, those around her were to suffer for those two men's mistakes. With unearthly precision, she continued with her strokes: decapitating, severing, disemboweling, in every gory way imaginable.

By the time the last figure fell, her rage had left less than a finger's length of the bar counter untouched with blood.

The bar tender walked out with the vodka and froze before the scene. Lia took the bottle and broke off the top, then, took a large swig before spewing the contents into the older man's face. "Tastes like shit…" She quickly stormed out with fire in her eyes. The streets were lightly populated from stragglers just leaving the tournament, one of which went out of his way to give a friendly greeting to Lia as she exited the bar. She didn't even bat an eyelash when she slammed the broad end of her blade into the man's shoulders; painting the street with the man's blood. Her rage only grew at the many sights of this town.

This town had hell to pay, and she wasn't cheap.

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(Finally, getting back to the action. You have no idea how hard it is for me to write chapters that lack action. It doesn't give me anything to look forward to. I guarantee you that there will be action coming shortly. As in _real_ action, not this gory slay-all scene.

Anyway, until next time. And remember these two important things: drinking and driving is bad for you and the review button is your friend . **SSF**)


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